AUGUSTA -- Minutes after being ordered to serve 15 years behind bars for arson and attempted murder, a Vassalboro man told the judge he was innocent.

"I feel that I'm not guilty of any of the charges," Kenneth C. Knox said, sitting at the defense table Wednesday morning at the close of his sentencing hearing in Kennebec County Superior Court.

Knox, 53, was found guilty by Justice Nancy Mills last June of four crimes committed Christmas Day 2005:

* arson, for starting a fire and burning down the home he shared with his sister and former brother-in- law;

* attempted murder, for endangering their lives by splashing gas on them;

* criminal threatening, for carrying an ax while chasing his former brother-in-law around the home prior to the blaze; and

* aggravated cruelty to animals, for killing a dog and cats in the blaze.

Mills sentenced Knox to 30 years in prison, with all but 15 years suspended and six years of probation.

Knox was arrested as he walked from the fire scene at 117 Main St. in Vassalboro, on Dec. 25, 2005.

Testimony at the trial in June 2007 indicated the fire followed an altercation between Knox and his former brother- in-law, Timothy Barrett.

Knox was using gas and oil to clean his chainsaw inside the home. Barrett objected to the smell and asked him to do it outside.

It escalated when Knox threatened Barrett with an ax and chased him around the room. Knox also splashed fuel on his relatives, a computer and around the room, testimony said. The fuel exploded when it hit the woodstove and the fire destroyed the two-story home and carport.

Joan Knox-Barrett suffered a burned left arm when her sweater caught fire. She doused herself by rolling in the snow outside, according to testimony.

In a victim impact statement addressed to the judge, Knox-Barrett and Barrett said he lost his job and they were homeless for a while after the fire.

Mills said the two indicated they remain so fearful of Knox they couldn't attend the sentencing hearing.

"I remember Joan telling me she saw his eyes and both she and Tim Barrett believed he was trying to kill them," Deputy District Attorney Alan Kelley told Mills on Wednesday. "The one thing that is certain is that he's dangerous."

Kelley asked for a 30-year sentence with all but 25 years suspended.

The couple told investigators Knox had been unemployed since 1998 and that he refused to go to counseling.

Knox, through his attorney Pamela Ames, maintained the fire was the result of an accident and he never set out to hurt anyone.

"It was all a terrible accident that went very, very wrong," Ames said. "He loves his sister and is sorry his sister got hurt."

She said Knox denies mental illness and that a series of psychological and psychiatric evaluations at Riverview Psychiatric Center mostly bears that out.

Ames sought a lesser sentence, recommending a 15-year sentence with all but five years suspended and six years' probation.

"Mr. Knox lost all his possessions, his house is gone, his land is gone," she said, adding that Knox had gone back inside to try to rescue the family dog.

Knox has been jailed since the incident.

Betty Adams -- 621- 5631

badams@centralmaine.com