Current:Home > MyCalifornia fire agency employee charged with arson spent months as inmate firefighter -FutureWise Finance
California fire agency employee charged with arson spent months as inmate firefighter
View
Date:2025-04-11 23:33:03
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection employee charged with starting five brush fires spent months as an inmate firefighter after being convicted of causing a fatal collision, according to officials and public records.
Robert Hernandez, 38, was arrested last Friday at the Howard Forest Fire Station in Healdsburg, California, on suspicion of arson to forest land, Cal Fire said. Hernandez worked as an apparatus engineer for the agency, operating and maintaining fire engines and water tanks during emergency responses.
A court complaint filed by the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office revealed Hernandez’s criminal record and subsequent experience as an inmate firefighter, the Press Democrat reported Wednesday.
Records show he was convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, stemming from a 2016 collision in San Bernardino. He received a six-year prison sentence but in 2018 was granted participation in a rehabilitation program that lets incarcerated people join fire camps across the state, the newspaper reported.
Participants support firefighters during emergencies, including fires and floods.
Neither Cal Fire nor the union representing Cal Fire employees have said whether they know if Hernandez has retained an attorney for the arson charges.
Cal Fire said last week that Hernandez ignited the blazes while off duty between Aug. 14 and Sept. 15 in forest land near Geyserville, Healdsburg and Windsor.
The blazes burned less than an acre combined due to the quick actions of residents and firefighters, the agency said.
“I am appalled to learn one of our employees would violate the public’s trust and attempt to tarnish the tireless work of the 12,000 women and men of CAL FIRE,” Cal Fire Director and Fire Chief Joe Tyler said in a statement.
Ari Hirschfield, a Cal Fire spokesperson, said in an email Friday that the agency would not answer further questions about the arrest.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Hawaii's 2021 Red Hill jet fuel leak sickened thousands — but it wasn't the first: The system has failed us
- Kentucky man on death row for killing 3 children and raping their mother has died
- 16,000 people with disabilities are in state-operated institutions. This is how experts say health care should change.
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Bella Hadid Started Wellness Journey After Experiencing “Pretty Dark” Time
- 'As the World Turns' co-stars Cady McClain, Jon Lindstrom are divorcing after 10 years
- Homeless families face limits on shelter stays as Massachusetts grapples with migrant influx
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot winner in Oregon revealed: I have been blessed
Ranking
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Former 'American Idol' contestants return for Mandisa tribute
- Metro train collides with bus in downtown Los Angeles, injuring more than 50, 2 seriously
- Walmart to close health centers in retreat from offering medical care
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Delaware judge refuses to fast-track certain claims in post-merger lawsuit against Trump Media
- The Georgia Supreme Court has thrown out an indictment charging an ex-police chief with misconduct
- Biden administration plans to drastically change federal rules on marijuana
Recommendation
Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
Fed likely to hint interest rates will stay higher for longer. But how high for how long?
FEMA administrator surveys Oklahoma tornado damage with the state’s governor and US senator.
'Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar': Release date, cast, where to watch the 'epic saga of love, power, betrayal'
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
United Methodists begin to reverse longstanding anti-LGBTQ policies
Tony Awards 2024: Alicia Keys' 'Hell's Kitchen,' 'Stereophonic' lead with 13 nominations
Coach Deion Sanders, Colorado illuminate the pros and cons of wide-open transfer portal