VirginiaFirePix.com photo of retired Hamilton VFD engine officials say was used in joyride. More apparatus photos from VirginiaFirePix.com can be found here.
Read press release from Loudoun County Department of Fire, Rescue & Emergency Management
UPATE at 6:08 PM: Evening news reports indicate that the four volunteer firefighter passengers on the rig are a 19-year-old female, a police officer in Leesburg and two who are volunteers in positions of authority in Loudoun County.
UPDATE at 2:30 PM: Loudoun County Fire-Rescue Chief W. Keith Brower, Jr. and Fire-Rescue Commission Chair Douglas G. Rambo will be answering reporter’s questions this afternoon about the incident Saturday morning. The department issued a press release shortly after 2:00 PM that added some new information. Here are excerpts (there is a link above to read the entire release):
Early Saturday morning, a deputy with the Loudoun Sheriff’s Office witnessed a retired fire engine owned by the Hamilton Volunteer Fire Company operating in a dangerous manner. Upon learning that there were no active fire incidents in the Hamilton area, the deputy stopped the engine. After a subsequent investigation, it was determined that all five off-duty volunteer firefighters in the engine were intoxicated. The driver, a volunteer with the Hamilton Fire Company, was arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and Unauthorized Use of Vehicle. The other four occupants of the truck were released to an officer of the fire company.
The volunteer members of the Hamilton Volunteer Fire Company involved in this incident have resigned. Two volunteers from other companies who were riding in the truck have been suspended while the internal investigation of this matter continues.
The County’s Fire and Rescue Commission, the Department of Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Management, and the Hamilton Volunteer Fire Company are grateful for the prompt action of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. The behavior of these individuals does not represent the values of Loudoun’s fire and rescue service and will not be tolerated by any of our volunteer companies or the Department. This incident involved off-duty personnel and a retired fire engine, so fire and rescue readiness was not jeopardized.
EARLIER COVERAGE:
At 2:00 Saturday morning in the Hamilton, Virginia area a Loudoun County Sheriff’s deputy spotted a truck weaving on Harmony Church Road. It wasn’t just any truck. It was a fire engine and according to the Ashburn Patch the deputy ”veered into a ditch to avoid a collision with the westbound fire truck”. The Washington Post reports the deputy’s radar indicated the rig was going about 10 mph over the 50 mph speed limit. It turns out, according to the news reports, the 1989 Pierce Lance pumper was being taken for a joyride by the 27-year-old firefighter at the wheel and four other volunteers after a night of drinking.
Here are more details in excerpts from an article by Martin Weill of The Washington Post:
The vehicle, described as a spare belonging to the volunteer fire department in the Loudoun town of Hamilton, had apparently been taken on a joyride, said Investigator Vincent DiBenedetto, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.
Sean Swanson, arrested by Loudoun County Sheriff's Office.
After checking for fire calls, the deputy turned his car around and stopped the truck.
Officials of the Hamilton department could not be reached immediately. DiBenedetto said the 1989 truck was not the one kept at the ready at the firehouse to answer alarms.
Sean Richard Swanson, 27, a volunteer with Loudoun Fire Co. 5 was given a series of field sobriety tests and placed under arrest.
Deputies released the other passengers – all Loudoun fire and rescue volunteers who the Sheriff’s Office reported were drinking – to a sober driver following the incident. Deputies released the truck to a supervisor with the Hamilton fire station.
The Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate and will work with the Commonwealth’s Attorney to consider additional charges.
Also on STATter911 …
- Colby, Wisconsin Lt. Jamison Kampmeyer killed in roof collapse at Abbotsford theater. Was also deputy sheriff. – March 5, 2012
- Fire truck crash in Accomack County, VA. Bloxom VFC Firefighter David Chew Jr. killed. – July 16, 2012
- SC volunteer firefighter accused of impersonating police. Pulls teen driver over for speeding. – August 17, 2012
- Firefighter Zachary Whitacre of Gore, Virginia killed in crash after being thrown from rear of rig. His father lost control of tanker on icy road in West Virginia. – February 13, 2012
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My apologies for the omission of response. The ‘media hound’ comment was regarding the emotionally charged condemnation of these individuals and generalizations about their fields of work as well as the dramatic inferences and poetic license some modes of media are taking in further criminalizing their behaviors e.g. Is it easy to steal a firetruck? Inference of a code response. Etc.
Either way it’s a testament to all members of civil service to be more scrupulous of their conduct and personal ‘leisure’ activities (especially those that could impair their judgement to this extreme).
Again, thank you for your response and updates, Statter!
this guy need to be hung once again one group of guys giving every fire fighter a bad name not just volunteer but also paid. i am a volunteer and as for DCFDSGT says
Once again, you get what you “pay” for !!!!….. your a moron let me guess your paid and forgot where you came from i just walked in the door from a building fire and me and my fellow volunteer busted our ass’s to do our jobs just like we did on the other 7 house fires this month the only difference between us is you get paid for what we are willing to do for free your actting just like the rest of the general public is baseing the your views of the majority on the actions of the few we have just as much to lose when we run in to a fire as you do so what makes you so much better b/c you sit around all day playing with yourself and we work along days work, go home to spend time with our families and when the tones drop we show up on the fire ground in our pov’s ready to give our lives to save another if anything its harder to be a volunteer b/c of having to prove ourselfs to the career side but for some reason alot not all but alot of the career side think there better then the volunteer side we all do the same training and are all brothers and have to count on eachother when the tones drop
Swanson had court this morning. Did anyone hear any updates from that?
Arraignment today
Next court date June 13th
anyone want to name the others that were on the firetruck? They are just as at fault as Swanson, yet no one seems to want to release anyone elses names.
They can not release the names. It is still being investigated for further charges to possibly be filed on the rest of the people involved.
Plus I dont think Dave would let us put the names out there until the media does, seeing that some of the information that has been posted has yet to be approved to be posted as a comment.
In all of the reports that I have read it appears that the driver is the only one that was charged and taken to jail. I am wondering why the 19 year old passenger was not given a sobriety test and charged with under age drinking? We read about many young adults being removed from vehicles when they are passengers, given a sobriety test and if they register on the breathalyzer as having alcohol in there system charged as the law requires (i.e. License immediately surrender under the No tolerance law, placed under arrest and taken to jail). We continually hear how all law enforcement agencies are cracking down on under age drinking, what happened in this situation? I find it appalling that we not only have a group of individuals who feel they maybe above the law. But then to have them stopped by a police officer, who they ran off the road, and everyone not being charged on the scene. This action by Loudon Sheriff’s office could be considered a confirmation of the perception that if you are part of “the group” you may or will get breaks that the citizens you server do not!
good job fire men you are the do you have fire truck