HALLSTEAD, Pa. — Editorial Note: The attached video and featured image are courtesy of United Fire Company. James Heaman is not associated with United Fire Company.
A firefighter in Susquehanna County set a vacant home ablaze and then worked it put it out late last month, state police at Gibson said.
Investigators said James Heaman, a 20-year-old volunteer with the Snake Creek Fire Department near Hallstead, admitted he dropped a lit match on Feb. 27 inside a home at the corner of Tripp Lake Road and Laurel Lake Road in Liberty Township.
The match ignited nearby combustible items, and the resulting fire soon ripped through the unused structure.
Having set the blaze, Heaman raced home to grab his firefighting gear and then returned to the scene to snuff it out.
Heaman is charged with arson, aggravated arson, criminal trespass, risking catastrophe, causing catastrophe and criminal mischief.
He was jailed at the Susquehanna County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail set Wednesday by Magisterial District Judge Gregory C. Scheer. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled Monday.