CANTON – A 32-year-old Canton man was charged with intentionally lighting a vehicle on fire on Nov. 21 near the entrance to the Mountain Mart convenience store, 103 East Main St., Canton.

[img_assist|nid=350718|title=Brian Bellinger|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=250|height=327]Brian Bellinger, 32, of 224 State Hwy 310, was charged with a felony count of fourth-degree arson and a misdemeanor count of fourth-degree criminal mischief. Bellinger was released on appearance tickets to reappear in Canton Town Court on Jan. 8.

“The resulting investigation led to the arrest of one individual, who was an occupant in the vehicle when it arrived at Mountain Mart. Once the vehicle was parked and the driver entered the convenience store, the front seat passenger was observed to exit the vehicle and stay outside near the car. The passenger then lit an object on fire and then placed it in the back seat area of the vehicle. The suspect then walked away from the vehicle and into the store as smoke appeared from the vehicle, which then became engulfed in flames,” said Canton Police Chief James Santimaw in a press release.

A window of the convenience store was damaged due to the heat from the fire, he said.

On Nov. 21, at approximately 6:30 pm, the Canton Police responded to the Mountain Mart convenience store, for a reported vehicle fire. Upon arrival at the scene, patrols observed the vehicle, parked in front of the store, fully engulfed in flames. Officers attempted to extinguish the fire with fire extinguishers until Canton Fire Department arrived on scene and put the fire out.

Captain Dan Holcomb was on scene within two minutes reporting a fully involved car fire parked in front of the Mountain Mart threatening the building, said Canton Fire Chief Robert Crowe. Assistant Chief Shawn McGregor and Chief Crowe arrived right after Captain Holcomb and deployed the four fire extinguishers from the fuel island in an effort to knock the fire down and lessen the exposure to the building.