RIVER FALLS – A River Falls man not only got singed hair and eyebrows from a recent house fire, but a felony charge to boot.

Christian Dale Oxley, 46, was ordered to pay $500 cash bail March 31 in Pierce County Circuit Court on felony second-degree recklessly endangering safety, resisting or obstructing an officer and misdemeanor bail jumping charges. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and/or up to $25,000 in fines.

According to the complaint:

A resident called police at 2:40 a.m. March 30, asking them to respond to a structure fire at 131 Emory Drive. The building was a one-story duplex; when police arrived, they saw smoke coming from the roof on the home’s east side. The 37-year-old complainant said a bed was on fire inside the home and that his mother and her boyfriend were still inside.

When the officer opened the door, they observed heavy smoke inside along with two people standing near the door. The officer asked the 61-year-old woman and Oxley to exit the residence, but the woman said she needed to get clothes. She and Oxley disappeared further inside. The officer followed but couldn’t keep going due to the heavy smoke. The officer ran outside and headed to a partially open bedroom window, through which they saw a bed heavily damaged from fire. The woman and Oxley were in the room. The woman eventually walked outside, but Oxley refused to respond to officers. In fact, he laid down on the bed that had been on fire. Officers finally got him to get up and exit the home. However, he kept trying to go back inside so officers had to handcuff him and place him in a squad. He registered a 0.294 BAC, which violated his absolute sobriety bond conditions from a previous case.

The woman, who was transported to River Falls Area Hospital for smoke inhalation, told police she’d been sleeping in the bed and guessed Oxley had tried to light a cigarette. She said she woke up from the heat of the fire on her back. She rolled over and saw large flames on Oxley’s side of the bed. He did not attempt to wake her up or put out the fire. She tried to pat out the fire, but it was too large. She ran to the kitchen to fill a glass of water, but that wasn’t enough to put it out. She ran back and forth from the kitchen with a large mixing bowl of water, which eventually put the fire out. While she was doing this, Oxley was wandering around the house, getting in the way. She said he was completely “out of it,” due to his intoxication level and medications. She didn’t believe he set the fire intentionally. She admitted she had left him a note the day before because she was upset over his alcohol use.

The caller had been sleeping downstairs and woke up when he heard footsteps running above him. He smelled smoke, went upstairs to see what was going on, then called 911. Both he and the woman said Oxley had been on a several-day bender.

Due to the size and location of the fire, Fire Chief Steven Cash was unable to determine the fire’s cause. He took samples from the bed and other areas of the bedroom. Investigators didn’t find any cigarette butts in the fire debris on the bed, but they found bottles of vodka on the bed, under it and next to it. Two lighters were also found on the nightstand, along with a cigarette butt.

Police arrested Oxley and transported him to Pierce County Jail. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 10:30 a.m. May 16.