Aug. 15 -- A former Mechanicsburg and Harrisburg-area firefighter is accused of intentionally setting a fire at a local business in March.
Adrian Vest Jr., 29, of Harrisburg, is charged with felony arson and causing catastrophe, as well as 33 counts of reckless endangerment in connection to a fire police say he started at DHL Supply in the 100 block of Commerce Drive in Silver Spring Township on March 13.
Emergency crews responded to the fire, which is estimated to have caused more than $65,000 in damage, around noon March 13, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Silver Spring Township Police.
Interviews with employees shortly after the fire identified Vest, who was employed at the facility at the time, as being in the area of the fire when it began, police said.
Several employees said they saw Vest go into the area on a forklift and a short time later come running out yelling “fire,” according to the affidavit.
When questioned, Vest said he had been in the area putting away boxes when he noticed the fire and tried to alert his coworkers, according police.
Vest also told police he was a volunteer firefighter with Washington Fire Company in Mechanicsburg and a fire company in the Harrisburg area, but later told police he lied about working for the departments, police said.
Police confirmed that Vest was terminated from both fire companies in 2017, according to the affidavit.
Vest also made numerous misleading statements as to why he was in the area of the facility at the time of fire, while work records indicated he should have been elsewhere in the building, police said.
Other employees told police that Vest seemed excited by the fire and seemed to take pleasure in telling his coworkers about different fire trucks as they arrived, according to the affidavit.
Vest was arrested on Aug. 10 and released after posting $10,000 bail, according to court records.
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