THE NATION - News from March 24, 2009
A firefighter whose mother was displaced by a December arson in a struggling steel town beset by them was charged with lighting two small trash fires there last week.
Robert Tracey Jr. is a firefighter in Coatesville, a town of 11,000 just west of Philadelphia. The Friday blazes, which didn’t cause any injuries, bring to 22 the number of arsons in the city this year. At least 48 others were set last year.
Tracey, 37, is the sixth person arrested in connection with arsons in Coatesville and the surrounding area. He’s not charged in any of the other fires, one of which killed a woman, but the investigation was continuing.
He was jailed in lieu of $2 million bail.
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