Robert Tracey Jr was connected with two arson fires in Coatesville on March 20

[Sister Iroz]

A former assistant fire captain has been charged with setting two fires in the arson-plagued town of Coatesville, investigators said.

Robert Tracey Jr., 37, was arrested in connection with two arson fires in Coatesville on March 20. One arson occurred in the 600 block of Madison Street and the other happened in the 100 block of Hope Street.

Witnesses identified Tracey because of his time as a firefighter and as a neighbor because he only lives approximately one block from both arsons.

"Mr. Tracey did give a statement admitting that he was in the area at that point. Based upon this information, the Coatesville State Police Department and the Pennsylvania State Police did arrest Mr. Tracey charging him with two counts of arson," Assistant District Attorney Thomas Ost-Prisco said during a Monday evening news conference.

There were a total of 66 arsons in the city in 2008 and a total of 22 so far this year.

Coincidentally, Tracey's own mother was displaced by an arson fire in December of 2008.

Tracey is the sixth person arrested since 2008 in connection to arsons in and around Coatesville.

Chester County District Attorney Joseph Carroll said law enforcement officials are investigating whether Tracey is possibly connected to any other arson fires.

"I would love to say that this is the end, but it's not. There are a number of unsolved arsons that likely cannot be tied to the suspects who have already been arrested," Carroll said.

Tracey had been a member of the West End Fire Company No. 3 for nearly 25 years. He held the position of Assistant Fire Chief, but he resigned from that position in February to become a firefighter with the City of Coatesville Fire Department. The Company said Tracey has been suspended indefinitely pending the outcome of the case.

The Company released a statement that read in part:

"No words are sufficient at conveying the anger, frustration and disappointment that the officers and members of the West End Fire Company feel regarding these allegations. Should Mr. Tracey be found guilty of these charges in a court of law, he will have betrayed not only the trust of Company, but also the sacred trust of the community that he served."

Tracey is being held on $2 million bail.

http://cbs3.com/local/coatesville.ar....2.965995.html

WTF was he thinking. FUCK TARD!

[Wicked Doll]

In this Jan. 26, 2009 file photo, broken windows and stains from smoke are seen in the aftermath of fire that damaged or destroyed a row of 15 homes, in Coatesville, Pa. Nearly 50 fires have been set in Coatesville since February 2008, and 20 nearby. Dozens of homes have been damaged and one life has been lost. Even with the arrests, scores of fires remain unsolved.

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — A firefighter accused of setting a pair of small fires in an arson-plagued steel town near Philadelphia initially told police he had not left the house on the night of the blazes, but later said he had been out buying cocaine, an investigator testified Friday at a preliminary hearing.

Robert Tracey Jr., 37, of Coatesville, had been a volunteer firefighter for nearly 25 years before becoming a paid firefighter with the Coatesville Fire Department in February. He was arrested a month later in the two March 20 fires. On Friday, he was ordered to stand trial on arson and related charges in Chester County court.

In interviews with police, Tracey initially said he hadn't left his house the night of the fires, Trooper John Clifford testified. Later in the interview, Tracey said he had left to buy cocaine a few blocks away, but hadn't initially wanted to admit that, according to Clifford, a state police fire marshal.

Investigators found cocaine residue in Tracey's house, along with a lighter and clothing that matched witness descriptions, said Clifford, who declined to elaborate on Tracey's police interview after the hearing.

Defense attorney Francis C. Miller said it was the first he had heard of the alleged drug purchase.

"I think there's a lot to be learned," Miller said outside the courtroom. "I don't know how strong or weak the commonwealth's case is."

Several neighbors also testified that on the night of the fires they saw someone wearing dark clothing and either a hoodie or a knit cap arriving at the scenes, setting the fires and then running away on foot.

Tracey is one of seven suspects arrested in connection with a rash of fires in Coatesville and nearby communities. Nearly 50 fires have been set in Coatesville since February 2008, and 20 more nearby; dozens of homes have been damaged and one person has been killed.

Investigators say the seven suspects are responsible for at least 25 of the fires.

Three of the suspects have connections to fire departments. Besides Tracey, one was a volunteer firefighter and another had applied to be a volunteer but was rejected.

Miller questioned why his client at one point was jailed along with one of the other suspects.

"Somebody was trying to create a jailhouse snitch," he said after the hearing.

Thomas Ost-Prisco, an assistant district attorney for Chester County, said that his office had nothing to do with the fact that Tracey was briefly jailed with the other suspect. He said he believes it was a mistake and that it was corrected.

Ost-Prisco said investigators are still looking at whether Tracey could be connected to any of the other unsolved arsons.

Tracey's mother was the victim of a December arson in Coatesville, a struggling steel town of 11,000.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...,5579211.story