Two former Brimfield firefighters who pleaded guilty to arson were sentenced to 3 years in the Hampden County House of Correction yesterday.
The families of Patrick K. Elliott and Brian S. Findlay wept as the two were taken from the courtroom in handcuffs after Judge Peter Velis handed down the sentence in Hampden Superior Court.
Judge Velis said the decision to send the men to jail was based in part on the fact that they'd placed fellow firefighters in harm's way when they set fires in vacant homes on Washington Road and Paige Hill Road in Brimfield and Chandler Road in Holland in June and July 2010.
"Fire is a dangerous weapon. It's a killer," Judge Velis said. "They put their brothers in harm's way. ... But for the grace of God, there are no widows standing before us today."
Two other firefighters in the case, Dylan LaJeunesse and Donald Moores, were sentenced to 3 years' probation earlier this year. They must also pay restitution.
Mr. Elliott apologized to the court and said he takes full responsibility for his actions, which he called "out of character for me."
"I let my former brothers in the fire service down," he said. "I threw away a career and a family tradition that I loved."
Friends and neighbors said Mr. Elliott is a hard worker, an accomplished finish carpenter and a hero for saving a dog that fell through thin ice and for his quick response in helping neighbors on Five Bridge Road in Brimfield after the June tornado.
Mr. Findlay, his sister told the court, once saved his mother's life when she choked in a restaurant. She said she needs her brother at home because he has been helping to raise her 3-year-old daughter since the child's father died when she was 6 months old.
Former Hardwick Police Chief James F. Owens wrote a letter of support for Mr. Findlay calling him a person of "great character."
Assistant District Attorney James M. Forsyth said the crimes drew national attention.
"It had an extreme effect on public trust," he said. "It was a black eye to every firefighter."
Mr. Forsyth said there was a "near miss" at one fire when a chimney collapsed and almost struck a firefighter.
Investigators said they wanted to see some jail time because of the seriousness of the crime and danger to the firefighters who raced to the fires to put them out.
Lawyers said the hardest thing for both men was admitting to their firefighter fathers that they'd had a role in the arsons. Mr. Elliott's father said the two work side-by-side and his son is amazingly skilled, but rebuilding their relationship took some time. He said he eventually hugged his son and told him he loved him unconditionally. He said he needs him to work at his carpentry business.
But Judge Velis said the men have "creative hands and destructive minds."
He said that while he understood that they are "good kids who did bad things," in a nation of laws they would have to be incarcerated, though not in state prison.
"Their ways and misdeeds have to be reflected on," he said.
Judge Velis sentenced the men to 1-1/2 years on one count of burning a building, 2-1/2 years with 1-1/2 years to serve and 1 year suspended for 5 years. On a third count of burning a building and a charge of conspiracy, they were sentenced to 5 years' probation after the other sentences.
They must also pay $139,045 in restitution.
A fifth firefighter, Jordan Frank, 20, also pleaded guilty to two counts of burning a building and one count of conspiracy. His sentencing is set for Nov. 29.
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