BG man arrested after Park Street apartment fire

Published 1:14 pm Sunday, October 11, 2026

A fire Thursday night at a downtown apartment led to the arrest of one man on suspicion of having set the fire intentionally.

Ronald Beard, 36, of Bowling Green, was arrested on one count of first-degree arson, three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, two counts of third-degree assault and one count of resisting arrest.

According to an arrest citation, the fire occurred at 1119 Park St., a residence divided into three apartments.

The Bowling Green Fire Department arrived to see the roof of the building engulfed in flames.

First responders evacuated three people from the two downstairs apartment units.

The evacuees later told Bowling Green Police Department officers that they heard banging and glass breaking from the apartment above them, and that one of the residents smelled smoke and went outside, where he first noticed the flames.

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City police spoke with a man across the street from the apartment who was later identified as Beard.

Beard confirmed he lived in the upstairs unit, and had cuts on his left wrist that appeared to be self-inflicted according to court records.

Beard is accused in his arrest citation of punching an officer who attempted to examine his injuries and striking the officer two more times as he was placed on a stretcher.

A cigarette lighter and a plastic bottle containing alcohol were found by police in Beard’s pockets, and a fire investigator identified two separate points of origin for the fire inside the apartment, the citation said.

Beard was to have made his first court appearance Monday in Warren District Court.