SC Firefighters Facing Arson and Attempted Murder For Setting Fire Station Ablaze

Two volunteer firefighters from South Carolina have been charged with attempted murder and arson after trying to burn down a fire station with a firefighter in it. Christopher Williams, 22, and Dominique Thompson, 21, have been charged with setting fire to the Yemassee fire station, which is attached to Yemassee Town Hall. The fire occurred last Tuesday evening at about 11:00pm.

Williams and Thompson, who were volunteers with the Sheldon Fire District, were former members of the Yemassee Fire Department. According to police, they were “feuding” with a junior firefighter who was inside the Yemassee fire station at the time the fire was set. They set the fire using gasoline but the junior member and a clerk in town hall escaped without injury.

The fire was extinguished by two other firefighters who were nearby, and the junior firefighter who was the target of blaze. The Hampton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating whether Williams and Thompson are connected to several other fires set in recent months. Both have been terminated from the Sheldon Fire District.

Here is more on the story.

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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