MARION COUNTY — A 41-year-old Centralia man charged in Marion County Court of felony arson has been found unfit to stand trial.

Edwin Steinkamp is charged with Class 2 felony arson in connection with a fire set in September at a Centralia home.

Steinkamp was arrested a few blocks away from a suspicious fire that gutted a home on South Hickory.   He reportedly became a suspect when he was seen in the area of the fire and when stopped by police, officers discovered he was in possession of a small torch and smelled of smoke.

Steinkamp was taken to the Marion County Jail where he has remained since. Attorneys raised the doubt of the defendant’s mental fitness soon after his arrest, and the court ordered a mental fitness evaluation to be completed.

Then a hearing Wednesday on the evaluation resulted in the court finding Steinkamp unfit to stand trial. However, it was also found he could likely achieve fitness after a year of treatment with the Department of Human Services.

A status hearing on Steinkamp’s treatment progress is scheduled for December 5 in Marion County Court.