Report: Ex-Firefighter Turned Arson Suspect Set Earlier Fire

The 19-year-old former volunteer firefighter who is now suspected of setting a building fire that left four dead was apparently suspended from the Lawrence Fire Department because he set a fire in May 2008. Newsday reports that Caleb Lacey lit a fire in a Dumpster behind an exercise club he went to and "told police about the earlier blaze during questioning" about the fatal fire last month. Lacey's lawyer said that his client just burned garbage and leaves, "It's really irrelevant to the allegations. It doesn't prove anything," and insists his client is innocent. However, police believe that Lacey wanted to play the hero, and doused a stairwell with accelerant, set it ablaze, and went back to the firehouse to wait for the 911 call. With their only exit blocked (the fire escape was removed earlier), a mother and three children were fatally trapped.