THE SOUTH GEORGIA TOWN OF IRWINVILLE woke up yesterday to learn that their volunteer fire department was shut down and the entire membership, including the fire chief, were under arrest for arson.
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The tiny department has (had?) six members and all of them, along with two other people, have been charged with setting fire to cars, vacant houses and brush land. Two of them have admitted that they were doing it for the thrill of racing to the fires in their engine and putting them out.
One of the non-members was the fire chief’s girlfriend who rode along with them to the fires.
Albany tv channel 10 WALB reports:
It actually stared out with some of the grass fires on Crystal Lake, every other day we were responding and the Irwinville fire department was getting called out every other day to grass fires at Crystal Lake,” said Sgt. Tammy Champion, Irwin County Sheriff’s Office.
It got gutsier when they used an oil gas mixture to set a now demolished vacant home at the corner of Big Creek and Eisenhower Roads. They also asked permission to use this vacant home at 926 Fillmore Road for practice, but when the owner refused, they set it on fire anyway two weeks ago Saturday. They got caught when investigators realized it was volunteer fire fighters calling 911.
“Tracking it back and pulling the 911 tapes, a couple of volunteer firemen have called in several different fires,” said Champion.
Firegeezer has posted WALB’s video report in our video box at the top of the right sidebar. You can read their story HERE.
