A volunteer firefighter on Long Island, New York, was arrested on Tuesday after authorities said he intentionally started a brush fire.
Jonathan Quiles, with the Medford Fire Department, allegedly set a fire in a wooded area on Mount Vernon Avenue in Medford on Tuesday afternoon, Suffolk County police said in a news release.
A vehicle parked nearby was damaged in the blaze, 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 news 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 Quiles is currently suspended and, if found guilty, will be terminated. 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.”
The arrest comes months after a California firefighter was accused of setting five fires between Aug. 15 and Sept. 14 while off-duty. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said the fires combined burned less than one acre of wildland and were quickly extinguished. The firefighter, Robert Hernandez, was arrested in September.
