The Island Packet
YEMASSEE, S.C. — The investigation of an attempt last month to burn the Yemassee Fire Department and Town Hall should be handled by the state instead of the town’s police department, according to the mayor and fire chief.
Mayor Jerry Cook and Fire Chief Paul Holmes said Tuesday they had not discussed their concerns with Police Chief Jack Hagy, but hoped he would turn over the investigation of the Nov. 18 fire to the S.C. Law Enforcement Division.
On that night, two volunteer firemen allegedly attempted to burn the fire station because they were feuding with a volunteer firefighter who was inside, according to police reports.
Cook said SLED should lead the investigation because of the town’s small size to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.
SLED has been assisting with the investigation, agency spokesman Thom Barry said, but it is not the lead agency.
Cook said he was not opposed to Yemassee police being involved in the investigation, but said SLED should take the lead.
Hagy defended his department’s investigation and said he is confident in police Capt. Gregory Alexander, who is in charge of the case. Hagy said he wants to speak with town officials about their concerns.
Former Yemassee and Sheldon Fire District volunteers Chris Williams, 22, and Dominique Thompson, 21, both of Yemassee, have been charged with second-degree arson and attempted murder for their alleged roles in trying to set fire to the building. A teenage firefighter and the interim town clerk were inside the building at the time, but managed to escape, according to police.
Williams and Thompson were released from jail Tuesday after posting $50,000 bonds, reduced Monday from $300,000, according to court records.
Police Capt. Alexander said the dispute started when Thompson took volunteer firefighter Deandre Griffin’s face mask on an emergency call. On Nov. 18, Thompson and Williams had heard that Griffin, 18, was angry at them about the face mask incident. The men knew Griffin would be working on reports in the fire station that night, so they decided to burn the station down with Griffin inside, Alexander said.
Williams later told police the fire was Thompson’s idea, and that they had talked about setting the fire upstairs, but “his heart just wouldn’t let him do it.” Instead, he poured gasoline by a door and along a wall, according to a police report.
Thompson initially denied involvement, but later told police he drove Williams to and from the fire station and knew he had made a mistake, the report said.
The mayor and fire chief say they’re not satisfied with that version of events.
Cook said he suspects a third person might have suggested the men burn the attic, which houses the town’s records. The police chief and captain, however, say they have no evidence anyone else was involved.
Holmes said he’s concerned there have not been enough interviews and said the incident seems too extreme to have stemmed from a feud over a face mask.
“It has got to be explained why, instead of doing what normally happens with a disagreement, they’re destroying a whole town,” Holmes said. “They could have destroyed everything. And you don’t do that just because you’re upset.”
Holmes said he and the police have also had a misunderstanding about Williams and Thompson’s work history. Williams was suspended more than a year ago due to his operation of a fire engine on an emergency call, but Thompson had not left the department, Holmes said.
“He had slacked off on his attendance to meetings, but he had not been suspended or anything until this,” the fire chief said.
Police Capt. Alexander, though, said he still believes Thompson quit, following a fire at his own home in which no Yemassee volunteer firefighters were available to respond.
The department is still working with SLED to investigate the Nov. 18 fire and a series of other unsolved fires in Yemassee. Alexander said police plan to interview a third person about those incidents, and that person is not a volunteer firefighter or related to Williams or Thompson.
“It’s just, bottom line, still under investigation,” Alexander said. “We just want to get all our ducks in a row.”
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