Overview
- The alleged incident occurred early Tuesday when 30-year-old Nestor Roman left his burning home on Faraway Road and boarded a Whitefield Fire Department engine that crews were using to fight the blaze.
- Officials say Roman drove the stolen apparatus into other emergency and private vehicles, rammed two Whitefield vehicles, crossed a neighbor’s fence, and narrowly missed firefighters working at the scene.
- State police arrested Roman a few miles down Faraway Road after troopers found him trying to enter another residence and described him as uncooperative at the time of arrest.
- Roman faces multiple charges including reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, theft by unauthorized taking, burglary, and resisting arrest, and he is scheduled for arraignment on Wednesday.
- The house was destroyed, Engine 3 and Rescue 1 suffered major damage, and local departments warn the losses could strain mutual-aid response while investigators continue to determine the fire’s cause.