Arrests of four volunteer firefighters on arson charges were anticipated this afternoon in connection with two house fires around Bell Buckle, according to Bedford County Sheriff Randall Boyce.

"At least four will be, maybe five," Boyce told the Times-Gazette yesterday afternoon about the suspects who are believed to have set fires together.

"All have confessed to parts of it," Boyce said.

Two fires will apparently be identified as the locations of arson, he said. One is a house on Bell Buckle-Wartrace Road. Another is a house on Beechwood Road.

"They admitted to burning those because they were empty," the sheriff said.

While one of the houses could be described as vacant, the other is seen as a place where someone stays occasionally, Boyce said.

Monday afternoon, residents of Bell Buckle were becoming aware of the success of the investigation by the sheriff's department and the Bomb and Arson Section of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, although the actual number of arrests seemed unclear.

"The fifth one knew a little about it, but he didn't go out with them on it," Boyce said this morning, "so I think it's going to be four" arrests.

Suspects have received calls from investigators and were told that if they didn't surrender, then they would be found and brought in, officials said.

"Our concern was that eventually, somebody might be killed, either a firefighter on the way to the fire or somebody in the fire, and the fires seemed to be getting bigger and more frequent," Boyce said.

The sheriff said Agent Mead McWhorter of the bomb and arson section "helped us a lot" in the investigation.

McWhorter and the sheriff's department worked with "several tips from several people," Boyce said.

The suspects are 19 and 20 years old, he said.

Bell Buckle Volunteer Fire Chief Ronnie Lokey declined to speak about the pending arrests. However, a statement from Mayor Dennis Webb this morning said that Lokey and the Volunteer Fire Department "have done a great job working with the Bedford County Sheriff Department throughout this investigation."

"These matters will be addressed through the Bedford County Sheriff's Department and the local justice system," Webb stated.

"The mayor and fire chief want the citizens of Bell Buckle to know that we have a group of committed and caring firefighters. Our firefighters know that it is vital that we maintain the confidence and trust of the community. Due to these recent events, the fire department's commitment to the community has strengthened even further.

"Chief Lokey has established high expectations for our firefighters," Webb said. "Under his guidance, issues such as training and morale have improved. I hope the citizens will trust our department to work through the matter and give our firefighters a chance to show they are committed and capable of protecting the lives and property of our community."

While it appeared that most of the volunteer firefighters who are suspects in this case are from the town's department, one might be a volunteer with Volunteer Fire Services Inc., the service that provides management, oversight and fire suppression services across the county.

"If that's the case, they're no different from anybody else. We don't condone this. It's a black eye for us, but people should trust us and we'll go on and provide our service," said VFSI Chief Mark Thomas.

Thomas said he's not been involved in the investigation "mainly because it falls in the Bell Buckle jurisdiction."

Mutual aid services are exchanged in an emergency, however.

There are 140-145 firefighters associated with the VFSI, Thomas said.

Fires that have been under investigation apparently include one on Maple Street and two large barns that were owned by The Webb School, Thomas said. They were considered historic structures by school officials.