Former Conn. Firefighter Admits to Setting String of Fires

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Former volunteer firefighter turned serial arsonist Christopher Message faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to setting fires in Fairfield, Easton and Monroe that destroyed homes and businesses and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.

In a letter handed to the Connecticut Post after Message had pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Robert Devlin, Message acknowledged he "caused fear, destruction, tears and sadness," in the community with his actions.

"I will make no excuses for my actions. This is an apology, not a plea to feel sorrow for me and how I lost my way. Ultimately it is me who chooses my doings. I chose wrong," he stated.

Message, 35, who had served as a volunteer firefighter in Trumbull from May 2002 to 2007, pleaded guilty to six counts of second-degree arson, two counts of third-degree arson, three counts of first-degree criminal mischief and one count of reckless burning. Although Message could have faced more than 100 years in prison if he had been convicted of the crimes after a trial, Senior Assistant State's Attorney Howard Stein told the judge he will recommend Message serve a 10-year prison term with psychiatric treatment when he is sentenced June 22.

Asked by the judge if he understood the ramifications of his guilty pleas, Message calmly answered, "Yes sir," and then glanced at family members in the back of the courtroom.

Message had been charged with setting 11 fires between July and September 2011. Two Fairfield firefighters suffered minor injuries fighting one of the blazes.

The first fire occurred July 19, 2011, at Pulver Motors on Kings Highway East in Fairfield. Stein said Message later told his girlfriend he set the fire because he thought he had gotten a bad deal there on a car.

Subsequent fires included those that heavily damaged the Rustic Grill and two barbershops in Monroe on Aug. 8, a trash bin and boat fire in Easton and fires in vacant houses in Fairfield on Sept. 8 at 1300 North Benson Road, 321 Woodridge Ave. and 53 Cornell Road.

Following his arrest, police said, Message confessed to setting the fires and went with detectives back to the scenes where he demonstrated how he had done so.

Police said after Message set fire to the Cornell Road home, he told them he became frustrated when firefighters and emergency personnel didn't immediately respond to the scene. They said he called 911 twice on his cellphone identifying himself as "John Doe." The second time he told the dispatcher he was not sure if someone was in the house. When firefighters did arrive, Message was parked nearby. He wanted to make sure safety personnel had arrived on the scene, he told police.

Message told detectives he torched the Monroe barbershops because he felt the owners had been rude to him when he tried to get a job there.

Message subsequently went to work at a Bridgeport barbershop.

"A very important sense of peace and security was taken away for many," Message continued in his letter. "Peace and security are god-given human rights not to be exploited. Many wondered in fear, is my property next? Some lost priceless items and memories accumulated through life. Hopefully, not all wonderful memories were lost."

Copyright 2012 - Connecticut Post, Bridgeport

McClatchy-Tribune News Service