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A UK man has been given a suspended prison sentence after admitting to setting fire to his own home twice in one night just so he could see firefighters in action.
26-year-old James Brown, from Northumberland, in the UK, has been described as having an obsession and a fascination with firefighters rather than fires. In an ideal world, he would be a firefighter himself, but things didn’t work out that way, so he just settled for admiring firefighters from a distance and calling the fire department incessantly. When that wasn’t enough anymore, he moved on to setting his own house on fire just to see the firefighters in action.
On the evening of September 9, 2023, the fire brigade was sent to a home on Eleventh Avenue, in Ashington, after the owner called emergency services to report a fire. He said sparks were coming from the electricity meter, and some of his textile bed linens in a cutboard had caught fire. Firefighters ended up putting out a small fire and disconnecting the electricity supply, just to be sure. Only 90 minutes later, Brown once again called the fire brigade to report another fire.
According to court records, James Brown filmed the firefighters as they rushed to put out the fire and seemed quite enthusiastic by their presence on his property.
Last month, James Brown was sentenced to eight months’ suspended sentence for two years with 150 hours of unpaid work for his 2023 crimes. His lawyer said that he is “extremely remorseful” and is currently seeking help for his obsession. He has refrained from contacting the fire department since his arrest.