Firefighter Charged In Amish School Arson

[matcom]

<snip>

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa - At first, Dustin Shane Gerth seemed to be a real Johnny on the spot.

The 18-year-old volunteer fireman told police he just happened to be cruising by a one-room schoolhouse near Ephrata at 3:10 Saturday morning when he spotted a fire inside.

Gerth, the story went, told one of his pals in the car to dial 911 as he drove frantically to the Farmersville Fire Department, heroically jumped aboard a fire engine and rushed back to the scene to fight the blaze.

Police, however, aren't buying that version.

Authorities in West Earl Township have charged Gerth, of 210 Patchwork Lane in Narvon, with breaking into the Pleasant Valley School and starting the fire, which caused $20,000 in damage.

http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/205566