The Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office arrested a Jeanerette volunteer firefighter Sunday after he admitted to investigators that he set an abandoned house on fire in order to get experience as a firefighter.
Kentrelle Beasley Jr., 18, was booked into the Iberia Parish Jail on one count of simple arson.
According to a spokesman for the Fire Marshal's Office, the Jeanerette Fire Department responded to a report of a residential fire in the 100 block of Nolan Duchane just after midnight on July 4.
The fire was actually reported by Beasley, in person, at the fire station.
Beasley, who had been a volunteer firefighter with the department for three months, later showed up to the scene in his gear to assist with fire suppression efforts.
Due to the suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire, SFM deputies were requested to assist with the investigation.