Canadian volunteer firefighter, 19, accused of setting several fires that he then helped to put out

A teenage volunteer firefighter is accused of setting several fires that he then helped to fight, authorities in Alberta, Canada said Sunday.

Lawson Schalm, 19, was charged with 18 counts of arson by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a federal law enforcement agency, in the town of Mayerthorpe located about 80 miles northwest of Edmonton, CTV News reported.

Volunteer firefighter Lawson Schalm, 19, was charged with 18 counts of arson

The teen had been volunteering with the local fire department since he was 15 and became an eligible firefighter on the day he turned 18, according to the news channel.

The accused arsonist's father, Albert Schalm, is a former mayor of the town of 1,400.

The former mayor said he was in 'total shock' after learning about the charges through social media.
'As a family, how do you deal with that? We can't prepare for that because you don't see it coming,' he said in an interview with CTV News.

He said he will continue to support his son. 

'Wherever this ends up, Lawson will always have a place at my table.'

Police are investigating over 20 suspicious fires in the area since April 19, the Calgary Herald reported.
Schalm helped fight five of the blazes he allegedly set, and was a bystander at four, according to CTV News. 

One of the blazes that Schalm is accused of setting destroyed a landmark railway bridge last Tuesday.
The local fire chief, Randy Schroeder, said the news of Schalm's arrest was 'heartbreaking.'

'To learn that Lawson Schalm was involved in this, there is a sense, on behalf of the members, of a certain sense of betrayal,' he told CTV News.
'I try not to take it personally. I'm struggling, like a lot of our members, with 'why' and 'how' and 'what did we miss?'

Schroeder said firefighters worked over 12 hours to put out the railway bridge fire. On Friday alone, the department responded to five fires.

The teenage firefighter's father, Albert Schalm, is a former mayor of Mayerthorpe. He said he will stand by his son 'wherever this ends up'

The fire chief said Schalm was a 'great firefighter' who 'was used an awful lot.' The teen was 18 months into his training.

Schalm is being held in custody until a scheduled court appearance May 4.

Last week, a volunteer firefighter in New Hampshire was charged with arson after a brush fire destroyed 190 acres and forced the evacuation of 17 homes.



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