A volunteer firefighter from a community in northern Louisiana has been charged with arson after admitting he set fire to a building last week.
KLFY News reports that Epps firefighter Travis "JT" Simmons, 26, was booked into the West Carroll Parish Jail on one count of simple arson and obstruction of justice in relation to a fire at a vacant building on April 1.
Officials say that during their probe of the fire they became suspicious and believed one of the responding firefighters had possibly removed evidence from the scene. Simmons became a suspect after investigators learned he had placed the 9-1-1 call reporting the fire but provided a different name to dispatchers.
Simmons reportedly changed his story several times during interviews with investigators and eventually admitted to setting the fire, saying he "thought the building needed to burn." He also admitted to removing evidence from the scene.
Epps volunteer firefighter Travis "JT" Simmons was arrested for setting a building on fire last week and told investigators it "needed to burn."
