N.C. Firefighter Accused of Setting Wildland Fires

LUMBERTON -- A Robeson County firefighter is accused of setting six fires over a two-year period to woods and fields near his Rowland home, authorities said.

Austin Seth Hunt, 18, of the 4600 block of U.S. 301 South, was charged Wednesday with six counts of setting fires to woodlands and grasslands, said Lt. Brian Duckworth of the Robeson Sheriff's Office.

The charges are misdemeanors, Duckworth said.

The fires happened between September 2010 and Sept. 12 this year, Duckworth said.

Two of the fires from 2010 happened while Hunt was a member of the Rowland Fire Department, Duckworth said.

Hunt has since been with the Raynham-McDonald Fire Department, Duckworth said.

"Most of the fires were near the family home," Duckworth said. "The others were on Covington Road and School Road."

Hunt, who has several relatives who are firefighters, actually called in some of the fires, Duckworth said.

Hunt began setting fires when he was a child, Duckworth said.

"He started doing it as a minor and just couldn't help himself," Duckworth said. "He said he wanted to see the trucks roll."

The N.C. Forestry Service opened the investigation after plotting the location of the fires on a map, Duckworth said.

Forestry rangers discovered that all were in or near Hunt's residence, Duckworth said.

Hunt's bail was set at $3,000.

Copyright 2012 - The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service