Source The Island Packet, Hilton Head Island, S.C.
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Nov. 29--A former Bluffton Township Fire District captain accused of burning down his Okatie home in 2008 will appeal a state agency's decision denying him renewal of his EMT certification.
Robert James Pairman, 47, and his ex-wife, Kelly Nestor Pairman, 42, face charges of second-degree arson and animal mistreatment after allegedly setting their Rivers End home on fire. The blaze killed one of the couple's dogs, which was trapped inside.
Pairman, who had been employed at the district for 12 years, has since applied to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control for re-certification of his basic EMT credentials.
DHEC staff, however, denied his application after a mandatory criminal background check revealed the pending charges, according to Adam Myrick, an agency spokesman.
Pairman is expected to appeal DHEC's decision because he has not been convicted of the two felonies. The DHEC board will hear Pairman's appeal Dec. 8, Myrick said.
In South Carolina, EMTs are required to be recertified every four years and also must undergo a criminal background check, according to the agency's website.
Pairman resigned from the fire district Nov. 12, 2010, according to Fire Chief Barry Turner, and he had been on unpaid administrative leave since he was charged in September 2010.
The couple's home burned Nov. 4, 2008. During a search of the home after the blaze, a Sheriff's Office dog indicated fire accelerants were present. Investigators also found a book on arson in the garage, the only part of the home not destroyed, according to Robert Pairman's arrest warrant.
A witness also told investigators Pairman asked how to start a fire without being detected, the arrest warrant said. The warrant doesn't identify the person Pairman allegedly asked.
Trial dates for the couple have not been set, according to Daniel Brownstein, spokesman for the 14th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office.
A year ago, Pairman barricaded himself in his girlfriend's apartment for several hours after threatening to commit suicide, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. He was not charged in that incident.
Follow reporter Cassie Foss at twitter.com/LcBlotter.
