10 months ago
PRESQUE ISLE (NEWS CENTER) -- Investigators with the State Fire Marshal's Office have determined that a fire Friday night at a packaging company was set, and a Presque Isle firefighter has been arrested.
The fire started just before 10:00 p.m. on November 13 at the Northeast Packaging Company on Rice Street. A large building, 150 feet by 300 feet, and its contents were destroyed.
Timothy MacFarline, 23, of Easton, a paid call firefighter for the Presque Isle Fire Department, was arrested on Sunday. He was also an employee of the packaging company. MacFarline was taken to the Aroostook County Jail in Houlton. He has since been released on $5,000 cash bail.
Presque Isle Fire Chief Darrell White said, "The department conducts a background and reference checks as a standard procedure on all potential call firefighters before they are hired. There were no indications of any concerns in hiring him as a call firefighter. After his arrest, he was suspended from the department pending further investigation."
In addition to the State Fire Marshal's Office, Maine State Police, the Presque Isle Police and the Presque Isle Fire Department all participated in the investigation.
MacFarline is scheduled to be in Aroostook County Superior Court in Caribou on January 21.
NEWS CENTER
