Woman Sentenced in Wilmington LODD Fire

Posted by: Curt Varone December 15, 2019 0

A woman who pled guilty to setting the fire that killed three Wilmington, Delaware firefighters, has been sentenced to thirty years in prison.

Beatriz Fana-Ruiz, 30, was sentenced last week for the September 24, 2016 fire that killed Lt. Christopher Leach,  Firefighter Jerry Fickes, and Firefighter Ardythe Hope. Last August, Fana-Ruiz pled guilty to single counts of second-degree murder, arson and assault. She was facing multiple counts of first-degree murder, assault, arson, and reckless endangering.

According to DelawareOnline, Fana-Ruiz was intoxicated and on anxiety medicine when she set the fire in the basement of a rowhouse where she was living with her father and stepmother. She was reportedly upset with her living situation.

ABC6 is reporting that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement will seek to deport Fana-Ruiz to her home country of the Dominican Republic upon her release.

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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