LANCASTER, S.C. — Lancaster County deputies say the suspect responsible for lighting fires at a vacant home was a member of a local volunteer firefighter.
LCSO says the 31-year-old suspect was arrested on April 1 and charged with three counts of arson related to the two fires that happened at the home, located along 1st street in Lancaster. According to deputies, the home is boarded up, has no utilities active, and is owned by a property management company out of Columbia.
The first fire broke out on December 5, 2020, around 10 p.m. Local departments, the county fire marshal, and LCSO responded. The fire was put out, but there was significant damage to the back wall, where the fire is believed to have started. LCSO says the cause and origin of the fire were deemed suspicious, and an investigation was launched by the Multijurisdictional Violent Crime Task Force.
The next fire broke out on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, at 9:15 p.m. This time, however, the house was engulfed in flames and totally destroyed. Additionally, a home and storage building next door to the vacant home was damaged. This time, the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) also started an investigation into the second fire.
LCSO notes that the volunteer firefighter they eventually arrested was with Gooches FD, and served the area the fires happened in. LCSO says the suspect alerted passersby about the fire and was found alone in the Gooches station just minutes before the call came out.
That prompted a search warrant at a relative's house where the suspect spent most of his time, and LCSO says evidence tying him to the second fire was found at the home. The suspect was questioned about the fires on April 2 and was then arrested. As of Friday, April 2, his membership with Gooches FD was terminated.
He is now charged with 3rd-degree arson for both fires, along with 2nd-degree arson for damaged caused to the neighbor's property in the second fire. The suspect was granted bonds totaling $20,000, but as of writing has not bonded out.
