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Former Long Island Volunteer Firefighter Charged in Quadruple Fatal Blaze
By VERENA DOBNIK
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK -- A volunteer firefighter was charged Saturday with setting a fire that ripped through a crowded apartment house, killing a woman and three of her children.
Caleb Lacey, 19, a volunteer member of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department, set the fire at a neighbor's apartment house as a staged rescue attempt that went awry, said Nassau County homicide detective Lt. John Azzata.
"The suspected motive is what arson experts call 'hero' or 'vanity' _ to be the savior and appear to have saved individuals," he said.
Lacey faces one count of arson and four counts of second-degree murder in the Feb. 19 blaze in the Long Island town of Lawrence. He was arrested Friday.
Police said Lacey poured gasoline into the building's only staircase and set the fire, then returned to the fire department headquarters. When the call came in, Lacey "was one of the first responders on the fire truck," said Azzata.
At the arraignment, a prosecutor said Lacey in a video statement admitted to setting the fire and that he knew people were inside the building at the time, according to Newsday.
Authorities said the fire blocked the main escape route from the building. Killed in the blaze were Morena Vanegas, 46; daughters Susanna Vanegas, 9, and Andrea Vanegas, 13; and son Saul Presa, 19. Eight other residents, including Vanegas' two other children and their father, escaped through windows.
Hempstead town officials also issued summonses to the building's owners, citing the removal of a fire escape without a permit.
Lacey, of Lawrence, was ordered held without bail. Police did not immediately know if he had a lawyer. There was no immediate response to a call to Outreach Church of God in Christ, where Lacey's father is a pastor.
The fire department said Lacey, a probationary member since May 2008, had been suspended for an unrelated incident, details of which were not immediately disclosed.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK -- A volunteer firefighter was charged Saturday with setting a fire that ripped through a crowded apartment house, killing a woman and three of her children.
Caleb Lacey, 19, a volunteer member of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department, set the fire at a neighbor's apartment house as a staged rescue attempt that went awry, said Nassau County homicide detective Lt. John Azzata.
"The suspected motive is what arson experts call 'hero' or 'vanity' _ to be the savior and appear to have saved individuals," he said.
Lacey faces one count of arson and four counts of second-degree murder in the Feb. 19 blaze in the Long Island town of Lawrence. He was arrested Friday.
Police said Lacey poured gasoline into the building's only staircase and set the fire, then returned to the fire department headquarters. When the call came in, Lacey "was one of the first responders on the fire truck," said Azzata.
At the arraignment, a prosecutor said Lacey in a video statement admitted to setting the fire and that he knew people were inside the building at the time, according to Newsday.
Authorities said the fire blocked the main escape route from the building. Killed in the blaze were Morena Vanegas, 46; daughters Susanna Vanegas, 9, and Andrea Vanegas, 13; and son Saul Presa, 19. Eight other residents, including Vanegas' two other children and their father, escaped through windows.
Hempstead town officials also issued summonses to the building's owners, citing the removal of a fire escape without a permit.
Lacey, of Lawrence, was ordered held without bail. Police did not immediately know if he had a lawyer. There was no immediate response to a call to Outreach Church of God in Christ, where Lacey's father is a pastor.
The fire department said Lacey, a probationary member since May 2008, had been suspended for an unrelated incident, details of which were not immediately disclosed.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Fire Chick on
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that is crazy.. my thought and prayer are with the family and friends...sad thing is u have firemen out the everyday setting some type of fire, they just havent been caught yet...
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Permalink Reply by Shawna Syth on
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All my prayers go out to the families of those who lost their lives. I think that it is disturbing when a firefighter has to set a building on fire with people in it to feel as though he/she is worth something or to save someone. Like i said all my prayers go out to the victims families.
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