KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Three Knox County firemen, pulling 24-hour shifts with little work to do, grew so bored that they burned down -- among other buildings -- their own fire station, authorities charge.
'It seemed to be there just wasn't that much to do,' said state Fire Marshal Jess Hodge.
'They were just bored sitting around with nothing to do.'
The three firefighters working for the Rural Metro Fire Department of Tennessee, a privately owned fire protection company, were arrested Thursday and charged with several counts of arson.
Hodge said he expects to make four or five more arrests of firefighters today.
Officials said the fires were spread over a 14-month period and damage estimates may top $2 million. No one was injured.
'Our indication is that the men set these fires out of boredom,' said H.B. 'Buck' McPherson, assistant commissioner in the state Department of Insurance. 'This is an unusual arson case because these fires weren't set for monetary gains.'
'I think they were all working together,' said Wayne Williams, a Rural Metro spokesman. 'It's probably the most bizarre thing that's every happened to us.'
McPherson said it had not been determined how many fires had been set. But he said one fire at the West Knox County Public Library did $50,000 in damage and another damaged the Farragut High School library.
'I also understand they burned their own fire station (the Dixie Lee Junction Fire Station) four times before they finally got it to the ground,' he said.
The men were identified as Larry Dean Rogers, 19, charged with three counts of arson; Jeffrey L. Hensley, 20, charged with one count of arson; and Louis C. Roberts, 20, charged with two counts of arson.
