Firefighter Arrested for 10 Arsons

[SheBoss]

This happened in the communities just west of me. As most of you know, our business is selling fire equipment. While I didn't know this person directly, I know many of his fellow firefighters. I don't think the story says, but he is charged with 2 arsons in Union County and 8 arsons in Lee County, which is my county.

http://nems360.com/pages/full_story/...ry_left_column

NEW ALBANY â?? The 22-year-old volunteer firefighter charged with arson and murder in the death of an 88-year-old woman in eastern Union County may have sparked numerous other fires.

William Cody Lambert was charged Saturday with murder and two counts of arson after two early morning house fires were reported in the Alpine community. One of those fires killed Myrtle Mae Owen in her home.

At Lambertâ??s initial court appearance today in Union County, bond was set at $100,000 for each of the arson charges. Bond was denied for the murder charge, said Union County Sheriff Tommy Wilhite.

"He confessed to our two fires," Jimmy Edwards, the chief deputy sheriff in Union County, said Tuesday.

Attorney Steve Livingston had no comment Tuesday after being appointed to represent Lambert.

Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson said five felony counts were added Tuesday against William Cody Lambert accusing him of setting fires since January in three homes, a Catholic church and a barn.

Johnson said one of the Lee County fires occurred in June across the street from Lambert's home in the Guntown community. He said after Lambert was arrested in Union County, "it kind of started making sense" to question the firefighter about the Lee County fires.

St. Thomas Catholic Church in Guntown and the barn in Shannon were not occupied when the fires occurred, but people were home during all three of house fires in Lee County, the sheriff said.

"One had an entire family (that) almost didn't get out," Johnson said.

Edwards, the Union County chief deputy, said Lambert is a volunteer with three fire departments in Lee County and was trying to start volunteering at a fourth. Lambert was wearing a firefighter shirt when he was arrested Saturday, Edwards said.

[duster]

Weird. On the other hand, who's going to be more interested in a job that lets you hang around fires than an arsonist?

Didn't something like this also happen in California? I think a fire chief was found to be a serial arsonist...

[Miho]

I've had this happen a lot in CT. Someone I went to HS with actually got arrested for arson. He was on the fire department and they started wondering why he was always first on scene with some barn fires and such. Come to find out he had set something like 20 fires before they got him.

[SheBoss]

Being close to this business, I have a vested interest. But it's just hard to find good volunteer firefighters today. Hell, we PAY people and have a hard time finding good employees. Fire Chiefs have to take basically whomever comes along just to have people to turn out at the fires.

And yes, this happens quite often. I'm sure in CA as well, but there's been several here right in Mississippi. While we may be "backwards" here in the South, there's still an overabundance of good people and still the vol departments get whackos.

[Inked_Daddy]

I work with a lot of Firefighters and they have told me that there have been cases in Georgia of firefighters setting fires as well. Apparently out in the very rural areas they do not have many fires and there have been cases of fire figthers torching barns or old houses so they can have some "action".

[Goldy]

Apparently, he's now charged with capital murder along with a host of other things.

http://www.wmctv.com/global/category...autoStart=true

[guardmom2008]

That is sad, but we had that happen around here a couple of years ago, they were Junior firmen and got bored because there weren't any fires so they decided to start fires.