Firefighter Gets Lost, Sets Fires

Drunk man told police he set three fires because he was angry about not being able to find his way home

A volunteer firefighter is behind bars after he admits to setting three fires all because he got lost.

Charles Sluzenski, IV, 24, was drunk when he lost his way home in Pottstown, Pa. last Saturday, according to investigators. The man apparently got so angry over not being able to get home, that he started to set fires, said Montco D.A. Risa Vetri Ferman.

Sluzenski first set a trashcan on fire along the 400 block of East Vine Street in West Pottsgrove, Pa., according to authorities. While that fire spread to a shed, Sluzenski then allegedly moved onto the 300 block of East Race Street to set a bench on fire.

That bench was sitting next to a home, which eventually started to burn as a result.

The volunteer firefighter finally found his way into Pottstown -- his hometown -- but instead of going home, he went to set one last fire, prosecutors say.

This time he lit a shed on fire, which spread to a fiberglass boat sitting next to the shed.

While fire crews worked to put out this last blaze, Sluzenski allegedly approached the fire chief in full garb and said: "Put me in Chief, I'm a volunteer firefighter."

Pottstown Police quickly arrested Sluzenski. He later admitted to setting all three fires.

Sluzenski, who told authorities he volunteers at the Linfield Fire Company in Limerick Township and Liberty Fire Company in Spring City, faces numerous charges of arson, endangering the public and risking a catastrophe.

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