10 Arrested in Louisiana Arson Fires

Six current and two former Oakdale volunteer firefighters, mostly teenagers, are among 10 suspects facing arson charges after multiple fires destroyed empty structures in Oakdale since April 2010, state and local officials said.

State Fire Marshal Butch Browning said the suspects were seeking “thrills” when they allegedly set fires to structures, then helped fight the blazes with other volunteers and full-time Oakdale firefighters.

There were no injuries in the eight fires in which the suspects have been charged, Browning said at a news conference at the Allen Parish Sheriff’s Office in Oberlin.

Ten suspects have been arrested — six adults and four juveniles. Two suspects never have been members of the Oakdale Fire Department. All suspects are charged in one or more of the fires.

Browning said there were five structure fires, three “wild land fires” and one vehicle fire.

“We will not tolerate any public safety professional, any firefighter, using fire for their own thrill, for their own heroic endeavors, for their own imagination,” Browning said. “In this situation, there’s no doubt the motive in these fires was the need to be a hero.”

Browning’s office, the Allen Parish Sheriff’s Office, Oakdale Police and the Oakdale Fire Department conducted the investigation. The Oakdale Fire Department has four full-time firefighters, none of whom were arrested, fire Chief Thomas Moore Sr. said.

Information from: Alexandria Daily Town Talk