Fire chief tells TV station he’s okay that two of his officers are convicted arsonists
(Thanks to Steven Schnaudt for sending along this story.)
Chief Charles Schreiber is standing by his two men. The deputy chief and the captain, both volunteers with the Washington Park Fire Department are convicted of arson. It appears the arrests occurred in 1998.
Washington Park, Illinois is a town with serious financial difficulties. Previously the department has had problems with staffing, including making news in 2014 when a firefighter battled a fire overnight by himself (watch story here). The staffing issue surfaced again about 10-days-ago during two other fires (watch story here) which apparently lead to reporters looking into the past of two fire department officers.
“Yes, I know both of my deputy chief and both my captain are both convicted of arson,” said Fire Chief Charles Schreiber said. “It was a mistake they made in the past. We feel they are no threat to the public. We know they’re not going to set another fire or anything like that.”
Schreiber is aware of their pasts, but believes everyone deserves second chances. He’s confident in their abilities as firefighters, and isn’t worried about his own reputation.
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“Just knowing their past,” Schreiber said. “Their experience as firefighters. This has happened years ago. There’s been no other suspicions of anything.”
