Post by Art on Jul 25, 2013 21:59:16 GMT -6
touch.sun-sentinel.com/#story/sfl-flduh-fake-firefighter-20130722/
This wanna be firefighter is in red hot trouble. And any aspirations he may have harbored to be part of the team riding on a red fire truck just went up in smoke.On July 6th, a fire caused more than $500,000 in damage to the East Hernando Branch Library in Brooksville. Fightfirghters immediately thought the fire was suspicious and was probably started by somebody, according to a Hernando County Sheriff's Office news release.
When deputies and firefighters arrived on the scene, they noticed a man, later identified as Joseph Michael Brannen, at the scene wearing bunker gear, which is worn by firefighters when fighting a fire, the release stated.When deputies asked Brannen about his outfit, he allegedly explained that he wanted to be a volunteer firefighter and had bought the bunker gear from eBay. Investigators immediately suspected he had more involvment in the fire.Last Friday, at investigators' request, Brennan voluntarily arrived at the Sheriff's Office for an interview.At the meetup with investigators, Brannen stated that when he heard the call go out over his scanner, he went to the scene of the fire, hoping to help professional firefighters, investigators said.
Brannen was not permitted to assist in fighting the fire.During the interview, the 18-year-old firefighter wannabe finally confessed to setting the fire himself, providing details as to how he entered the structure and how he set the fire, the report stated.Investigators said that they also discovered pics from Brannen's Facebook page, including a photo of himself in full bunker gear, on which he wrote that that he is employed by Hillsborough County Fire Rescue. Apparently, that was a big fib.
Brannen then explained to authorities that it was his intent to work there, not that he actually did work there, according to the release.Brannen is charged with Arson; His bond was set at $3,000.