Two young men charged with arson Thursday in connection with a July blaze at a vacant Ashville home were volunteer firefighters.
Twenty-year-old Lakewood resident Michael Jackson and 19-year-old Jordan A. Carey of Ashville were both charged with third-degree arson for allegedly using gasoline to accelerate a fire intentionally started at 4826 Route 474 in Ashville on July 28 around 3:50 a.m.
A call to officials with the Ashville Fire Department was referred to Mike Gleason, a former fire chief and the current chairman of Fire Commissioners in the Ashville Fire District.
Gleason said the incident is embarrassing to a group of volunteers who take professional pride in saving lives and property.
"These two young men were firefighters at the time this happened but that doesn't reflect on the other firefighters with the company," he said. "They have both been suspended awaiting conclusion of their legal cases. If they are indeed found guilty, they, just like anyone who intentionally starts such a fire, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
According to Gleason, Carey had been a firefighter with Ashville for about four years and Jackson has been with them for approximately two years.
The investigation spanned more than four months, with Investigator Randy Boland with the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Department taking lead. He explained that the home was vacant and under construction at the time it was burned, and has since been demolished because of damage done during the fire.
He said that Jackson and Carey were being "mischievous" in the context that they didn't have some vendetta against the homeowners, who live in Eldorado, Calif.
Gleason, a 22-year-firefighting veteran, said that he didn't want to say anything that could possibly harm the pending case, but said that the Ashville Fire Department has cooperated fully with the investigation and plans to continue to do so.
Jackson and Carey were both taken into custody Thursday and arraigned in North Harmony Town Court in front of Justice Everett Bensink.
They were both remanded to the Chautauqua County Jail where they were held in lieu of $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 property bond. They will return to court at a later date.