In a shocking twist on Long Island, police said a volunteer firefighter intentionally set a brush fire in Medford on Tuesday, and has since been charged. NBC New York’s Pei-Sze Cheng reports.
A volunteer firefighter on Long Island was arrested Tuesday night after allegedly admitting to setting one of the brush fires that swept through the town of Medford earlier in the day, according to a local official.
Investigators were battling nearly a half-dozen small brush fires in Medford Tuesday. They put them out by the evening after fighting them for roughly six hours, officials said. No injuries were reported.
According to the supervisor for the town of Brookhaven, which saw one of the fires hit its property, on Pines Park, the volunteer firefighter is with the Medford fire department.
Police identified him as 20-year-old Jonathan Quiles. They allege he purposely set a fire in a wooded area on Mount Vernon Avenue Tuesday afternoon; a parked car nearby was damaged. Prosecutors accused him of lighting cotton balls on fire and throwing them into the woods and under a car.
Quiles, of Medford, was charged with arson and reckless endangerment. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Central Islip later Wednesday. The judge put Quiles on supervised release. His attorney said he would protect his client and fight for him.
Brookhaven intends to press charges, the supervisor says. The Medford fire department said in a Facebook post that it had suspended the volunteer. It added a background check turned up no red flags.
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No other details were immediately available.
