James Roger Carpenter Jr. / Contributed photo by the Bradley County Sheriff’s OfficeA man has been charged with 27 counts of child neglect following a Thursday morning fire at a day care center in Cleveland, Tennessee, according to the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities arrived at Little Lambs Daycare on Waterlevel Highway at 11:41 a.m. in response to a report of a fire. Twenty-seven children and four staff members were moved to a nearby building.
While responders were removing children from the center, they noticed open beer containers present in a room. They questioned day care employee James Roger Carpenter Jr. and believed he was under the influence of alcohol. Carpenter admitted to drinking multiple alcoholic beverages while working at the center that day, according to a news release.
Carpenter was arrested and charged with child neglect. He was booked into the Bradley County Jail on a $135,000 bond.
The Bradley County school system provided a bus and transported the children to Ocoee Middle School to be picked up by parents and guardians. The fire was extinguished in a few minutes, and no injuries were reported, a Bradley County news release states.