A Riverdale volunteer firefighter pleaded guilty Tuesday to sneaking into a vacant home and setting a sofa on fire with a flare so that he and other firefighters could return to help put out the blaze.
Jerome Engle, of Bowie, faces up to 10 years in prison but is more likely to receive a penalty closer to the guideline recommendation of one year in jail at his sentencing next month, said Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey. Prosecutors will seek $200,000 restitution from Engle.
“We expect our firefighters to battle blazes, not burn buildings,” Ivey said. “Mr. Engle not only violated the public trust but also put property and people at risk. We are holding him accountable with today’s conviction.”
Engle, 46, pleaded guilty to second-degree arson in connection with setting a fire to a house on Riverdale Road. As part of the plea bargain, Engle is expected to testify against co-defendant and firefighter James R. Martinez, 24, a Prince George’s volunteer who also is a paid firefighter in Montgomery County. His trial is slated for July 22.
Engle is the author of the self-published book “Probie Days: Kentland Engine Company 33 Second Busiest Engine in the Nation.”
On the early morning of March 13, 2008, Engle and Martinez were on duty at the Riverdale Fire Station when they allegedly removed a road flare from the fire engine and snuck into the vacant house on 5413 Riverdale Road. Martinez lit the road flare and handed to it Engle, who ignited a sofa in the basement, Engle said in court Tuesday.
Engle and Martinez returned to the Riverdale Fire Station and awaited the dispatch of a 911 call.
When no call came, Engle said he told Martinez to go back to the house and told him, “If the fire is small, put it out. But if it’s big, come back to the firehouse and get us.”
Martinez drove the engine to check on the blaze with volunteer firefighters Marcus Perkins and Gerard Dixon Jr., but on their way there, they were stopped by a Prince George’s County career firefighter who advised them of a fully involved fire at 5413 Riverdale Road.
After Engle, Martinez and the others extinguished the blaze, fire investigators determined that it had been set intentionally and called in Engle and Martinez for questioning.
