FAIRLEA, WV (LOOTPRESS) — In the early hours of Sunday, November 3, Greenbrier County Sheriff’s deputies responded to an emergency call involving a fire and a reported disturbance at a home on Montgomery Street in Fairlea. Emergency responders found a chaotic scene with a male occupant, later identified as Larry Brookman, behaving erratically outside his residence, yelling for help. Initial reports indicated that a woman, later identified as his mother, might still be inside the burning home.
When Deputy W.T. Cutlip arrived on the scene, EMS informed him that Brookman had visible bloodstains on him and had been combative with emergency personnel. Brookman was located across the street on a neighbor’s porch, where he recounted what had transpired. According to Brookman, he started a fire on his bedroom blanket in an attempt to draw attention to his ongoing belief that intruders were present in his home, a claim he had made to law enforcement the previous evening.
Brookman admitted to Deputy Cutlip that he had lit the fire intentionally despite knowing his mother was asleep nearby. Brookman reportedly barricaded himself in his room with a chair and then set fire to his blanket, eventually escaping by jumping out of his bedroom window. Fortunately, firefighters were able to extinguish the flames, and his mother, Margaret Brookman, was evacuated from the home and transported to the hospital for treatment of possible smoke inhalation. She was later transferred to the ICU for further care.
After a medical evaluation, Brookman was taken into custody and transported to the Southern Regional Jail. He now faces charges of first-degree arson and remains under investigation as authorities review the events leading to the fire.
