A Hot Time in Tunica

The community in Tunica, Mississippi can breathe a little easier after a volunteer firefighter was arrested in connection with two blazes lit in vacant structures. Adam Paul Carriere was serving as a probationary firefighter assigned to the West Feliciana Parish Fire District prior to his booking on four combined counts of arson and trespassing.

Having joined the district’s fire department just three days prior to setting the blazes, an initial background check did not reveal any disqualifying incidents or existing conditions. However, a more comprehensive screening of Carriere’s past was still in process at the time he was running around lighting unoccupied buildings on fire.

A preliminary investigation quickly narrowed it down to Adam Carriere as a prime suspect. Working alongside the Fire Marshall’s office, the district acted quickly resulting in the arrest. Carriere was said to have surrendered without incident and cooperated with investigators during the interrogation.

In a news release, State Fire Marshall Butch Browning stated, “It is taken very seriously when a firefighter crosses the line and does something like this. We will not tolerate such actions.” Indeed, the irony of an arsonist working as a firefighter is nauseating.

With regards to future applicants, the Fire District may want to consider waiting for all background checks to clear before allowing an individual to participate in active duty. Considering that firefighters are essentially some of the last true heroes in society, it’s upsetting when one of them perpetrates the very calamity they are supposed to be preventing. No one wants to see a firebug like Carriere or some other unbalanced individual marring the reputation of an otherwise respected and heroic public institution.