A former Pennsylvania volunteer firefighter has pleaded guilty to setting a fire inside a station in April, although he could avoid more jail time.
The Delaware County Daily Times reports that Javier McMillan, a 19-year-old from Chester, was sentenced Monday to serve five to 23 months in county prison after admitting to the arson inside the Parkside Fire Company's station on April 7. With time already served, he is immediately eligible for parole and could serve the remainder of his sentence on electronic home monitoring.
McMillan was arrested June 6 and confessed to setting the blaze inside the TV room on the second floor of the station at 107 W. Roland Road. The station's automatic fire alarm and sprinkler system activated at 10:42 a.m. that day, according to the Daily Times, and the firehouse was subsequently out of service for two days after what amounted to $225,000 in damages.
Witness accounts from paramedics placed McMillan on the second floor shortly after the alarm was triggered, and a motive was established when fire company trustees told investigators they were in the process of having McMillan removed "due to issues in the firehouse and (McMillan) was aware of the upcoming actions."
In addition to his sentence, McMillan was ordered to serve three years of county probation, to stay away from the Parkside Fire Company, and to comply with any recommendations from a psychological evaluation.
