Mamou man charged with simple arson

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MAMOU — The Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office reported the arrest of a Mamou man for setting a fire that led to his family’s home being damaged.
Tyler Byrd, 29, was booked into the Evangeline Parish Jail on Nov. 18, on one count of simple arson, according to a news release from the fire marshal’s office.
On Nov. 17, the Mamou Fire Department contacted the fire marshal to assist with determining the origin and cause of a house fire in the 1200 block of Hebrard Road in the Mamou area.
Investigators determined that the fire began in the garage and was incendiary.
Deputies learned Byrd, who lived in the home with relatives, was the only resident in the home at the time of the fire.
In an interview with investigators, Byrd admitted that he and a friend lit the fire near an ATV in the garage, a fire marshal’s news release stated. He gave deputies no reason for setting the fire other than that he and the friend had been drinking and “things got out of hand.”
Additional arrests are expected.