"Arrests of 5 more ex-firefighters expected"

Didn't they have enough to do, or did they need a hobby?

The Express-News reports the story:

With one former volunteer firefighter already charged with arson, Bexar County fire marshal's officials revealed Thursday that they expect to arrest five more volunteer firefighters suspected of setting brush fires in South Texas that injured one person.

Investigators said five former firefighters from the Poteet and Primrose volunteer fire departments should be arrested in the next few weeks and charged with arson felonies.

The firefighters are suspected of arson in more than 20 fires in Atascosa and Bexar counties that burned hundreds of acres of brush. Those brush fires also damaged several barns and sheds, fire officials said Thursday. In one case, the firefighters are suspected of lighting an uninhabited house on fire, according to fire marshal spokesman Ted Manganello, who characterized the home as "well-damaged." [emphases added]

That's just sad. In my book, firefighters are true heroes, for the most part. They dart into burning buildings to save human life, battle blazes in crappy weather, and perform high-water rescues when necessary.

But, "for the most part" is an important qualifier. Bonehead firefighters that intentionally set blazes that put other people in danger (like what is being alleged in the story mentioned above), are no heroes. They are boneheads at best, and villains most likely.

And they deserve contempt.