Ex-MA Firefighter Charged over Phony 9-1-1 Calls

FALL RIVER — A former Fall River firefighter was arraigned Monday on charges he made over a dozen false 9-1-1 calls to get first responders out of fire stations while he stole cash from canteens and fellow firefighters.

Kyle Cusick, 33, of Highland Avenue, was summoned to District Court for his morning arraignment. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.

Cusick was released on a personal promise to reappear in court, according to court documents. He was ordered to stay away from all six of the city's fire stations and remain in substance abuse treatment.

A district fire chief told a superior fire deputy in December that he suspected Cusick called in a series of recent false fire calls, according to a police report detailing the investigation.

The fire deputy and a Fall River police detective met with an emergency services dispatcher, who found 13 false fires had been called in from the same cell phone, the report states.

Another dispatcher plugged the cell phone number into Facebook, and found it was correlated to Cusick's profile.

"Hey, this guy's a fireman," the dispatcher said, according to the report.

The fire deputy, who told investigators he considered himself a "mentor" to Cusick, having known him since he was a child, confirmed the profile was Cusick's.

He told investigators the union approached Cusick and advised he seek help for a substance abuse problem. The department was aware Cusick "had been abusing pills" before he was hired but he still got the job because his father was a retired firefighter, a district chief told police, according to the report.

The fire deputy suspected Cusick may have been making false calls to get first responders out of stations while he stole cash from canteens and firefighters' personal lockers, the report states.

Cusick had access to all of the city's fire stations, none of which have security cameras, the fire deputy told police.

Investigators identified 15 calls for service made from Cusick's cell phone number to addresses where there were no fires during the former firefighter's two-year tenure with the department, according to the report.

In many, Cusick gave the dispatcher a fake name and said he called 911 "just to be safe." In other calls he said he could see smoke but no fire.

According to the report, Cusick failed to pick up when the dispatcher called back or provided the dispatcher with a call-back number that was one digit off from his own. The deputy chief confirmed the voice of the person who made the false calls was Cusick's.

Cusick didn't answer the phone when police called several times Jan. 22. Cusick later told police he did not answer because he recognized the calls were coming from the police station.

Police found Cusick's car parked in the driveway of his girlfriend's Meridian Street home the following day. Cusick did not answer the door when investigators knocked the first time, according to the report.

Police left and returned to the home later that evening. This time, according to the report, Cusick opened up and told them he didn't come to the door earlier that day because he was afraid the police had a warrant.

On Jan. 24, Cusick's attorney, Joseph Silvia, told police his client would not sit for an interview. Cusick was summonsed to court on 15 counts of reporting a false fire alarm. For each count, Cusick faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail or a house of correction.

Silvia did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Monday.

Cusick was terminated from the department Jan. 25, when Fire Chief John Lynch said the city planned to pursue the charges.

"False alarms result in the unnecessary deployment of fire department personnel and apparatus, putting our firefighters at risk," Lynch said.

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