IRON MOUNTAIN — An Iron Mountain man accused of starting a fire at his ex-girlfriend’s home in January 2024 has been found not guilty of second-degree arson.

The jury deliberated for about two hours Thursday before acquitting 47-year-old Matthew Thomas Olk after a three-day trial in Dickinson County Circuit Court.

During opening arguments, Dickinson County Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kristin Kass stated Olk on Jan. 24, 2024, deliberately set a fire in the corner of the Stockbridge Avenue building where his ex-girlfriend lived because he was upset their relationship had ended.

The fire caused no injuries and minimal damage before one of the home’s occupants extinguished it with snow.

Defense Attorney Sarah Henderson maintained the fire was not intentional and cigarette butts were frequently thrown off the deck of the house near the area where the fire started.

Henderson also contended a proper investigation of the fire had never been conducted.

During the trial, Kass introduced video evidence from a local business that showed Olk in the area of the residence within 10 minutes of the time the fire was called into 911.

Iron Mountain Fire Department Deputy Director Chad Hedmark testified a safety inspection of the site found no evidence of cigarettes. Hedmark also stated the area where the fire started had no electrical or gas lines and he would classify the fire as intentionally set.

Sgt. Joseph Allen of the Michigan State Police Fire Investigation Unit testified while he did not go to the site personally he did inspect evidence collected and agreed no cigarette butts were found.

Taking the stand on his own behalf, Olk said a meeting with his ex-girlfriend the night before had gone badly and he had stopped by her home in hopes of reconciling, but after seeing her with someone else realized it was over and left. Olk said he may have thrown a cigarette off the deck while he was looking in the window.

Donald Brown, a former fire marshal with the Michigan State Police, testified he would have classified the cause of the fire as undetermined. Brown said the lack of cigarette butts in the area could have been due to the scene being disturbed and dried leaves would have been a good fuel source.