The deputy chief of a volunteer fire company in Cecil County was arrested Tuesday morning after he was accused of starting a brush fire in Earleville, in the southern part of the county.

Robert Bennett, 39, is charged with malicious burning, malicious destruction of property and reckless endangerment, according to online court records. He was being held without bail and did not have an attorney listed as of Tuesday afternoon.

“The dedicated volunteers of our Hacks Point community will continue to respond, and the department reassures the public that we will remain vigilant in protecting the community and responding to emergencies,” Hacks Point Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Frank Redford said in a statement.

The Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal started an investigation after a brush fire was reported off Grove Neck Road on Nov. 4, on the property of Recovery Centers of America at Bracebridge Hall. Earleville is about 70 miles northwest of downtown Baltimore.

The fire was ultimately extinguished, the state fire marshal said, but not before it burned and scorched 2 acres of land. Bennett drove the brush truck that responded to the fire.

The addiction treatment center contacted the state fire marshal’s office after someone working there saw surveillance footage of Bennett setting the fire, officials said.

Acting State Fire Marshal Jason M. Mowbray called the situation “deeply troubling” and said Bennett’s alleged actions don’t reflect on the thousands of career and volunteer firefighters in Maryland.

“I’m disappointed, but the alleged actions of one should not disparage the work and sacrifices of those who serve,” he said in a statement.

According to the National Volunteer Fire Council, there is no data collection system for firefighter arson cases on the national level — though they estimate that more than 100 firefighters are arrested each year for setting fires.

In a report, the council said firefighter arson cases damage retention and recruitment in fire departments.

The investigation is ongoing, and authorities urge anyone with additional information to contact the Office of the State Fire Marshal at 410-386-3050.