In association with
Omroep Gelderland
NOS News•today, 3:07 PM
A former member of the volunteer fire brigade in Gelderland and his three friends receive community service and suspended prison sentences for arson. The court in Zutphen determined this. The judge is convinced that the four are responsible for a house fire in Putten on the day one of them passed his fire brigade exam.
The group of twenty-somethings had a party on December 1 last year, because their 26-year-old friend from Garderen could officially call himself a firefighter from that day on. They wanted to ensure that he could respond on his first evening as a member of the volunteer fire brigade.
Two of the men filled up with petrol and diesel. The two others then started a fire in an empty house in Koudhoorn (municipality of Putten) using the full jerry cans. The ex-firefighter knew that that house was vacant because the fire brigade had held an exercise there.
Dismissal
The man was already on his way to the barracks before the pagers went off. He arrived first. Four corps ultimately had to respond to the major fire.
It soon became clear that the fire had been started. Eyewitnesses saw the member of the volunteer fire brigade filling up jerry cans with petrol and diesel that evening. He admitted his involvement to his superior. Shortly afterwards he was dismissed from the fire brigade.
No jail time
The Public Prosecution Service had demanded a prison sentence of ten months for three men. The fourth was sentenced to six months in prison.
The sentence is lower because the men had no criminal record and are sorry for the arson. However, they must report to the probation service for three years. They must also follow cognitive skills training.
The Gelderland-Midden safety region informs Omroep Gelderland that the case “hurts the heart of all firefighters”. A firefighter being fired for this reason has never happened before in the department.
