OAN Staff Abril Elfi
1:00 PM – Wednesday, November 13, 2024
A 20-year-old volunteer firefighter has been arrested after allegedly admitting to setting a brush fire in Medford, New York.
According to officials, volunteer firefighter Jonathan Quiles, 20, intentionally ignited a fire in a wooded area on Mount Vernon Avenue that damaged a 2004 Chevrolet vehicle, while also resulting in a half-dozen other smaller brush fires in the vicinity.
On Tuesday, the fires burned through an area of Twelve Pines Park and fighters responded on Wednesday morning to take out the hotspots. No injuries were reported in Tuesday’s fires.
The growing fire was also one of several brush fires in Suffolk County on Wednesday.
It was revealed in court that four witnesses saw Quiles, at 3:23 p.m. local time, kicking and throwing cotton balls, which they say he purposely lit on fire. Fifteen minutes later, behind a residential area, another witness purportedly saw him throw more cotton balls on fire.
He is charged with arson and reckless endangerment. The Suffolk District Attorney says the charges are not eligible for bail.
“Unfortunately, under New York’s ‘Bail Reform,’ intentionally setting fires in the midst of the dangerously dry conditions and a statewide burn ban are not bail eligible offenses, meaning my prosecutors cannot even ask for bail on these charges. Our New York lawmakers need to get their act together and pass common sense fixes to a broken bail system,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
The Medford Fire Department said they “perform 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.”
Quiles is now currently suspended and will possibly be convicted, leading to his firing.
According to the department, “the incident is actively being investigated by the Suffolk County PD Arson Squad.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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