A volunteer firefighter on Long Island, New York, was arrested Tuesday after he intentionally started a brush fire, authorities said.
Jonathan Quiles, of the Medford Fire Department, set a fire in a wooded area on Mount Vernon Avenue in Medford on Tuesday afternoon, Suffolk County police alleged in a news release.
A vehicle parked nearby was damaged, police said.
There were about a half-dozen small brush fires in Medford on Tuesday,
NBC New York
reported. They were put out after about six hours, officials told the station, noting that there were no reports of injuries.
Quiles, 20, was charged with fourth-degree arson, fifth-degree arson and second-degree reckless endangerment, police said. He was arraigned Wednesday and pleaded not guilty, court records show.
Anthony LaPinta, an attorney for Quiles, told NBC News: “Jonathan is a peaceful, good-natured and polite young man who has, in the past, successfully worked through a number of personal challenges.” LaPinta declined to answer further questions.
The Medford Fire Department said that Quiles is suspended and that if he is found guilty, he will be fired. The department said in a
statement on Facebook
that it performs “arson background checks before admitting members and there was no knowledge to suspect that this individual may have had any inclination of intentionally setting fires.”
A C
alifornia firefighter was accused
in September
of setting five fires
from Aug. 15 to Sept. 14 while off-duty. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said the fires combined burned less than 1 acre of wildland and were quickly extinguished. The firefighter, Robert Hernandez, was arrested in September.
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