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2 Firemen charged with arson
I figure I was the best person to start this discussion before someone else did, why??? Both of them backed me up on a hose line to fight these fires.
This is painful to write but a lesson to be learned and signs to be watched. The back round is this I am a member a fire department in rural NW Pa. in the past few months we had a rash of fire in homes that are unoccupied, all 10 fire had been deemed suspicious. All had similar causes and many other signs pointed to arson by the same subjects.
Needless to say being a small town and the fact each house was unoccupied the community started getting angry and in the fire house the whispers are getting loud that it might be a fire fighter or some one angry with the fire department. After the last fire as we returned the state arson investigators are there taking pictures of all our shoes and other evidence was found and our worse nightmare was there 2 of our young members both 19 and been there since 16 as Jrs. are charged and have confessed to lighting 9 fires and 46 other felonies.
I am so very angry because both put my life in jepordy and rode the lead engine with me all the time, why did they do it? why they wanted to face the fdire they wanted to be cool they wanted to act like big time firemen. We now can look back and see the signs and see the clues and we all feel like crap and the community is angry at us all.
I ask all of you to take a look at those type A new members and teach them the pain that can be caused make it part of training to visit a burn center and keep your eyes open, both of these young guys face 512 years of time and will and have thrown their lives away for nothing.
This is painful to write but a lesson to be learned and signs to be watched. The back round is this I am a member a fire department in rural NW Pa. in the past few months we had a rash of fire in homes that are unoccupied, all 10 fire had been deemed suspicious. All had similar causes and many other signs pointed to arson by the same subjects.
Needless to say being a small town and the fact each house was unoccupied the community started getting angry and in the fire house the whispers are getting loud that it might be a fire fighter or some one angry with the fire department. After the last fire as we returned the state arson investigators are there taking pictures of all our shoes and other evidence was found and our worse nightmare was there 2 of our young members both 19 and been there since 16 as Jrs. are charged and have confessed to lighting 9 fires and 46 other felonies.
I am so very angry because both put my life in jepordy and rode the lead engine with me all the time, why did they do it? why they wanted to face the fdire they wanted to be cool they wanted to act like big time firemen. We now can look back and see the signs and see the clues and we all feel like crap and the community is angry at us all.
I ask all of you to take a look at those type A new members and teach them the pain that can be caused make it part of training to visit a burn center and keep your eyes open, both of these young guys face 512 years of time and will and have thrown their lives away for nothing.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by junior on
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I feel your pain, back about 4-5 years ago, could be longer or shorter not sure. We had three firefighters arrested for arson, 1 was from my house 2 where from the house in the middle of town. It pissed me off to know end! I was very good freinds with the one from our house, and he had a lot going for him, lt at the ems,public safety dispatcher, dam good firefighter, great guy to hang out with. But because he was drinking he and the other two thought it would be "cool" to light up this house that was under const, what made it worse is he had one of the ems fly cars that night, cops saw him leaving the scene and question it, Well he sang like a song bird when confronted. Your dept will make it thru this and like you said learn from it.
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Permalink Reply by Ken Blakely on
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I know what you are going through, I just caught one of our own and will be charging him with six felonies all carry up to 5 years each , so he is looking at thirty years . He said the reason was so he could get firefighter of the year in his department, this is sad but the good thing is no one got hurt before I could catch him.
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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Dan:
They haven't thrown their lives away for nothing.
They did it for the rush that it gave them. They did it for their shot at fighting REAL fires. They did it for their chance to be big men on the fireground. They did it for their 15 minutes of fame. And they did it for SELFISH reasons.
Good kids, were they? Threw their lives away?
Well, GOOD KIDS DON'T SET FIRES. They CHOSE to do it. They didn't have to.
Had they CARED about their community and their fellow firefighters, they wouldn't have done it.
No prior criminal record? Well, they won't be able to say that one anymore. Any chance of getting on another fire department is slim to none.
In my mind, there is only ONE thing worse than an arsonist and that is a FIREFIGHTER ARSONIST.
Be angry. You have every right to be. But you don't have to be ashamed and neither do any of the others.
Let the law take its natural course. You and the others prove to the community that you are there to protect them and their property. It's a black eye on the fire service, but it is not an indictment.
And when the judge sentences them for their crimes, they will do so with words like "violated the public trust" and "your sentence will serve as an example and deterrent for others".
And your department will start the healing process.
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Permalink Reply by John L. VanAuken on
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I just wished to say, that I can under stand what you are going threw to a point. I was not on a Dept. at the time, but I had a very good friend that was convicted of arson, and was a firefighter as well. I still dont know all the facts, so can not say to as his reasoning behind what he did. I do feel that we all, as firefighters have the duty. Of training our new members, as well as our young youth. As to the wrongs and concenquinces of playing or even setting fires. I know from my own mistakes, when burning off fields and ditches, just how fast a fire can get away from ya, with out proper under standing of how fire spreads.So in closeing My heart goes to you and your fellow Firefighters, in this time of hardship.
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Permalink Reply by Dennis on
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I FEEL YOUR PAIN BROTHER I KNOW FEELING WELL WE HAD OUR PROBLEMS TOO BUT THE COMMUNITY MUST KNOW THAT REST OF YOU ARE THERE TO PROTECT THEM
WE ALL SEE THE SIGNS AFTER THE ARREST WERE NOT COPS OR DETECTIVES WERE FIREFIGHTERS THANK GOD NO ONE WAS HURT BE SAFE AND KEEP THE FAITH
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Permalink Reply by Dan Hoey on
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I Do want to say that without the the cooperation of our chief and the department they would not have been caught we did everything we could do to help stop the fires. They both have a 500,000 bail and most likely will get over 20 years in jail. I feel for their families One has a Brother and father still with us His brother is a Capt. and Dad a Asst. Chief this is who truley is suffering
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Permalink Reply by Brad Carlson on
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I think it is just wrong for 1 or 2 of our own to do something like this.It sickens me to think if I had to ride the engine with 2 of my brothers and fought a fire which they started.They must be hard up for a fire,and to look like the hero firefighter.I hate to see these happen to us our own people doing this to us .I'm sorry that you and you're daept has to go through this justice will prevail.
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Permalink Reply by lloyd on
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My heart goes out to your community and department as well as the families of these two young firefighters, and both of them. The mind is a complex thing and only God knows what all goes on in there. Things like this leave a very bad taste in the mouths of the public as they hold us up on a pedistal like they do many other groups like police and clergy. In fact, we are all human beings and subject to failures. I hope the healing process can begin......
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