Ex-volunteer admits arson at Parkside fire company
MEDIA COURTHOUSE » A 19-yearold former volunteer firefighter who started a blaze at the Parkside Fire Co. in April was sentenced to five to 23 months in the county prison Monday after pleading guilty to one count of arson.
Javier McMillan, of the 200 block of West Mowry Street in Chester, was given a sentence of 24 days in prison, which he has already served, with the remainder to be served on electronic home monitoring. Assistant District Attorney Michael Flowers said McMillan has been on electronic home monitoring since his release from the county prison June 30 and he is eligible for immediate parole.
McMillan, represented by defense counsel Joseph Schultz, was arrested June 6 when he allegedly confessed to setting the April 7 fire inside the firehouse at 107 W. Roland Road.
The firehouse’s automatic fire alarm and sprinkler system activated at 10:42 a.m. that day. There were three people in the station at the time, including McMillan, who had been living in a bunk room on the second floor.
Paramedic Patrick Adams, one of the other people in the station at the time, determined the fire was in a locked TV room on the second floor. McMillan was already on the second floor when Adams arrived and provided him with the lock code, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
There was no visible fire inside the room, which was full of smoke, but a thermal imaging camera located the fire inside a stuffed chair against a wall, directly underneath the sprinkler head that had activated and doused the flames.
An investigation conducted by Parkside Police Sgt. William Paul, county Detective Lt. Scott Bireley and Pennsylvania State Police Trooper John Stewart determined the fire was intentionally started using the chair’s fabric.
“As part of the investigation, the chair from the fire scene was taken and test burns were conducted,” according to the affidavit. “The test showed the fire was started with an open flame applied to the chair fabric and would have reached the temperature (158 degrees F) needed to activate the sprinkler heads in less than two minutes. The lack of smoke damage in the room was the result of the quick activation of the sprinkler system. The test also showed the person responsible for starting the fire would have had little time to leave the building prior to the alarm activation.”
The two paramedics told investigators they had only arrived at the station about 20 minutes before the alarm sounded and did not know anyone else was there. All the station doors were closed and locked.
McMillan had been living in the bunkhouse part time, according to the affidavit, but fire company trustee James Smithman said trustees were in the process of having him removed “due to issues in the firehouse and (McMillan) was aware of the upcoming actions of the trustees.”
McMillan told investigators that he was not in school on the day of the fire because of an in-service day, but school authorities later denied that was the case. He also said he had lost his lighter several weeks before the fire, but found it in the chair where the fire started. He said he lost it again, however, and had no idea where it was.
The department was out of service for two days following the fire. Fire Marshal Rob Powers said the majority of damages were confined to five offices and the TV lounge on the second floor, with some water and smoke damages to a kitchen area on the first floor. He estimated the total damages would cost about $225,000.
Flowers said damages had not been fully determined by Monday and a restitution order will be left open to amendment.
In addition to prison time, Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge James Bradley ordered McMillan to serve three years of county probation, stay away from the Parkside Fire Co. and provide a DNA sample to state police. He was also ordered to comply with the recommendations of a psychological evaluation.