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A volunteer firefighter has been accused of starting a fire in south Louisiana.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office, in a news release, said Kentrelle Beasley Jr., 18, was arrested on a charge of simple arson for setting an abandoned house on fire in Iberia Parish shortly after midnight July 4.

Beasley reported the fire to the Jeanerette Fire Department, where he had worked for three months, the fire marshal’s office said. He also helped extinguish the blaze, authorities said.

An investigation found the blaze was intentionally set on the home’s front porch, the fire marshal’s office said. When investigators learned the fire chief suspected Beasley may have been involved in starting it, they questioned Beasley and he confessed to starting it so he could help put out a fire, officials said.

No injuries were reported.

Beasley was arrested and relieved of his duty with the fire department, the fire marshal’s office said. Online jail records did not indicate whether Beasley was represented by an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Topics Louisiana