An arrest has been made in connection with a fire which destroyed a local business.

A blaze at Patti Ford’s Photography Studio, on the Cedar Bluff Road in Centre, caused major damage to the building Thursday evening.

Centre Police, and firefighters in the Centre, Cedar Bluff and Leesburg departments, arrived to find heavy smoke billowing from the building; the Cherokee County Major Crimes Unit in addition to Cherokee County Fire/Arson Investigator Shawn Rogers, and Investigators with the Centre Police Department were called to the scene.

According to Centre Police Chief Kirk Blankenship, 29 year old John Dylan Ford was placed under arrest in connection with the fire a short time later.

Ford was booked into jail just before 9:00pm Thursday and charged with Arson 2nd Degree and Burglary 3rd Degree.

The investigation into the matter is on-going.