News: Felon charged with impersonating a firefighter

Saturday, January 19, 2008

News: Felon charged with impersonating a firefighter

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A convicted felon was charged with impersonating a Los Angeles County firefighter, authorities said.

James Charles Campbell, 45, was charged Friday with two felony counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one misdemeanor count of fraudulently impersonating fire personnel, the Orange County district attorney's office said.

Prosecutors say that starting in 2001, Campbell showed up at the scenes of national and local disasters, including the World Trade Center after Sept. 11, 2001, as well as hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

He also is accused of gaining access to front lines of two California wildfires in 2006.

Campbell was arrested Sept. 7. Prosecutors say police, following up on a two-month investigation, found a handgun and shotgun at his home. Felons are not allowed to carry guns.

It was not immediately known who Campbell had retained as an attorney. He was free on $20,000 bail and is set to be arraigned Tuesday.

Campbell allegedly created a DVD of some of his firefighting excursions, which may have been used to promote his business, Frontline Safety Products, which sold safety equipment and taught first aid courses, mostly to construction companies and government agencies.

Campbell had no chance of being a real firefighter. While working as a paramedic in Arizona, he was convicted of credit card fraud in 1987. His paramedic's license was revoked and the felony would have prevented him from

joining the Los Angeles County Fire Department, authorities said.

If convicted, Campbell faces a maximum sentence of three years and eight months in prison.

Source: Mercury news

No comments:

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.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Saturday, January 19, 2008