Southern California Firefighter admitted setting fires in ’90s

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Southern California Firefighter admitted setting fires in ’90s

Man jailed for violating parole; he isn’t suspected of starting recent fires

SAN DIEGO - A volunteer firefighter who helped battle one of last month’s wildfires in San Diego County pleaded guilty years ago to setting several destructive wildfires.

Steven Santos Robles Jr. has been returned to prison because he violated parole by failing to tell his parole officer he had joined the Ranchita Volunteer Fire Department, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Robles is not suspected of setting any of last month’s fires, state fire officials said.

“We have had no other problems with him until this point,” said Jerome Marsh, a spokesman for the state parole department.

Robles, 30, pleaded guilty a decade ago to setting seven San Diego County wildfires that charred thousands of acres and destroyed about a dozen homes while he was a volunteer firefighter.

He was sentenced to 18 years in prison but was paroled in May.

No background check was required when he was accepted last month as a volunteer with the department in Ranchita, a community of 160 people.

On Oct. 21, he helped battle a fire that killed two people, burned more than 300 square miles and destroyed more than 1,000 homes.

Two weeks later, a state fire investigator recognized him.

Future volunteers will have to pass background checks, said Ranchita Fire Chief Gary Loyd.

Source: MSNBC

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Saturday, November 17, 2007