Sometimes apparent heroes turn out to be villains. According to California prosecutors, that is the case with 38-year-old firefighter Robert Matthew Hernandez, who was arrested on September 20 on suspicion of arson.
Law enforcement officials say Hernandez is behind five wildfires that have touched off in the Golden State’s famous wine country region over the past few weeks.
Until the arrest, Hernandez worked as an “apparatus engineer” for the fire department in Healdsburg, California, located in Mendocino County. While he was being arrested his fellow firemen were still out in the heat battling fires that have burned more than one million acres so far. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes and businesses.
Hernandez is accused of setting off five fires between August 15 and September 14 while he was not working, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). These include the Windsor River Road fire, the Geysers fire, the Geyser and Kinley fires, and the Alexander fire. Wildfires are named from the location in which they begin.
Cal Fire’s Joe Tyler, director and fire chief, said he was “appalled” to learn that one of his own may be behind the deadly and costly fires. It is an abuse of the public trust and a stain on the reputation of 12,000 people who work in the state to put out the blazes, Tyler said.
Fortunately, all five of the fires Hernandez was believed to have set burned less than one acre and were quickly put out. Fire chief Tyler said information from the public helped lead them to Hernandez, though he would not give any further details, and they would not speculate on a motive.
As strange as it may sound to some, firefighters who are also firebugs is a well-known problem with a long history. Some believe that it gives self-important and conscience-less people an opportunity to look like heroes to the public; they create their own fires so they can be seen to put them out. According to the National Volunteer Fire Council, there are about 100 arson arrests of firefighters every year.
Hernandez’s job as an apparatus engineer had him driving and operating fire engines and water tanks. He was charged with five counts of arson, and is being held without bail at the Sonoma County jail. His first court appearance is expected this week.
