A Nashville firefighter was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment almost a year after he took equipment and got confrontational at a fire scene outside the city.
Officials said Jacob Welbaum was at the Rutherford County house fire Jan. 18, 2023, when he took turnout gear from a Rutherford County fire apparatus. He donned the gear and went into the burning structure, yelling orders at firefighters, the charges state.
Welbaum was arrested Dec. 19, according to WSMV.com. According to the charges, the gear he took was taken "unlawfully."
Firefighters had to physically remove him from the scene, the charges show.
Welbaum, a member of the department since 2017, faces five charges of reckless endangerment.
WKRN.com reports that he also faces a single charge of disorderly conduct from the incident, in which paperwork says he ignored firefighters’ orders to not enter the home initially.
He remains a member of the Nashville Fire Department but is not in a public-facing position.
