While on duty, Captain Shoemaker was monitoring the fire department radio and listening to radio transmissions regarding a fire in Newark. Now, dispatched to a private home for a reported fire, “front porch fully involved…” Shoemaker jumped on the rig, and while in transit was especially aware and in tuned to his surroundings due to the recently heard transmissions relating to the Newark fire.

Arriving to the scene, Shoemaker, as Incident Commander took charge and ordered a handline stretch to extinguish the fire. Once the fire was extinguished, and giving a closer examination of the scene, he realized that the fire origin looked suspicious. There was an odor of some type of petroleum product and also noted was a pour pattern.

After close examination of the scene, Captain Shoemaker spoke with the homeowner; who give him the description of a woman that had poured gasoline on her front porch, lit it and left. Now, remembering that on his way to the porch fire there was a woman standing on a street corner with some type of container in hand; he realized that the homeowner had described that very same woman. Once Shoemaker realized this, he notified police of the location of the suspect. Police apprehended the suspect who was caring a flammable liquid at the time, and Arson Investigators arrived to investigate the fire scene.

The suspect who Captain Shoemaker alerted police to was later tried and incarcerated as the arsonist who set the fire to the homeowner’s porch.

A warm thank you for keeping our families and homes safe!