Dauphin County, PA, Firefighters Charged with Falsifying Work Hours
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Three firefighters of a Dauphin County fire company, including the president and chief, were charged this week after police said they fraudulently reported hours on their staffing calendar.
Police in Lower Paxton Township opened an investigation into the three Paxtonia Fire Company staffers in January after receiving information the men were reporting hours while not on duty, according to a press release.
On Wednesday police arrested 32-year-old Ryan Murphy, 30-year-old Nicholas Kimmel and 25-year-old Kody Rodkey, all of Harrisburg, and charged them with unlawful use of a computer, theft by deception and tampering with public records.
The falsified hours took place within the fire company’s system between Nov. 1, 2024, and Jan. 2, 2025, police said.
According to the Paxtonia Fire Company’s website, Kimmel acts as the company’s president and works as a captain, Murphy works as a chief and Rodkey works as a firefighter.
A Lower Paxton Township release said Murphy has worked with the Paxtonia Fire Company since 2010 and previously served as a lieutenant. Charging documents said he has worked with the fire company from 2010 to 2015 and again from 2020 to the present day.
Kimmel has worked with the Paxtonia Fire Company since 2013, according to police.
Charging documents said Rodkey has worked for the fire company since 2023. However, a May 2018 release from the Derry Township School District said he worked as a volunteer firefighter for the Paxtonia Fire Company while he was in 12th grade.
Kimmel and Murphy are accused of falsifying hours on 12 occasions, police said.
Murphy was fraudulently paid $1,650 while Rodkey and Kimmel falsified records to receive $800 each. Police said Rodkey fraudulently reported hours 10 times.
Police detailed Murphy’s fraudulent hours in an affidavit, saying he put staff on the calendar who were not ready to respond to calls on nine dates, put himself on the calendar while not ready to respond to calls on three dates and was paid for six dates while not on duty.
Additionally, police said Murphy and other staffers qualified for payments because of five fraudulent dates on the calendar.
Murphy and Kimmel had their unsecured bail set at $10,000 each, while Rodkey’s was set at $1,000, court documents said.
As of Thursday afternoon, all three men have been released from the Dauphin County Prison after being bonded out.
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