A former local firefighter has been linked to unsolved fires and an alleged arson attempt dating back three years.

Flint Road resident Christopher Millspaugh, 21, was initially arrested in May for a fire which reportedly destroyed more than $100,000 worth of logging equipment belonging to an area logging firm.

According to documents, Millspaugh has allegedly been involved in two fires and one arson attempt in town as well as leak of propane gas at the Hillcrest Apartment complex.

An indictment list released by Rockingham Superior Court indicates he is facing four felony and three misdemeanor charges that claim his involvement in incidents dating back to August of 2005.

Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams said on Sept. 11 that he could not discuss how investigators linked Millspaugh to the fires, which took place prior to the May incident. That fire was the most destructive of the incidents Millspaugh is charged with being involved in, and it destroyed two large self-propelled pieces of lumber equipment that were involved in a town-authorized wood-clearing project on a parcel abutting his Flint Road residence.

A Candia District Court affidavit states Millspaugh told police he found the fire after glimpsing an “orange glow” in the woods near his home. Documents state that Millspaugh allegedly gave a “detailed confession” less than a week after the fire and reportedly admitted to having started it with self-igniting road flares.

Documents allege that Millspaugh is also accused of having told a local youth to “cause a leak of propane gas” at the 24-unit Hillcrest Apartments on Old Candia Road on Aug. 11, 2005. The minor was 15 at the time of the incident, and a barbecue grill propane tank was reportedly found to be opened and leaking propane.

No fire was reported in that incident. The next allegation is dated about a year later when a large brush fire was extinguished in a house foundation on Flint Road in July 2006, and Millspaugh is also charged with an attempted arson that was reported a month later at the Candia Woods Golf Links.

In the early morning hours of Aug. 14, 2006, officers Kevin Cashman and Kevin Bowen were conducting a routine check of local businesses when they found a fire-starter log lying against the beam of a maintenance shed. The flames were extinguished before significant damage occurred.

In total, Millspaugh faces two arson charges, one attempted arson charge and a charge of reckless conduct as well as misdemeanor counts for endangering the welfare of a minor, arson and reckless conduct.

Shortly after the May incident and Millspaugh’s subsequent arrest, Fire Chief Rudy Cartier said the situation had been a “devastating” one for his small close-knit volunteer department. Select Board Chairman Fred Kelley echoed a similar sentiment after being informed of the additional charges against Millspaugh, who had been hailed earlier as a dedicated young firefighter who had joined the department as a Junior Fire Explorer at only 14. “It’s really taken the wind out of my sails. Very sad,” Kelley said.