2 Volunteer Firefighters Charged With Arson

EDGEWORTH (KDKA) -- Two volunteer firefighters have been charged with arson.

Edgeworth Police Chief John English said 18-year-old roommates Brandon Diewald and Justin Chorba had both recently passed their exams and were months away from becoming regular firefighters.

Chorba was five months away from joining the National Guard.

"It was hard to believe, but their answer was they were bored," English said.

They confessed to slashing tires on five vehicles in Sewickley and Leetsdale and setting a trash fire in Edgeworth on Shields Lane. They say they used Old Spice body spray and a cigarette lighter to ignite it.

This happened just before 3 a.m. Wednesday.

According to police, it was Diewald who reported the fire. Both were on bicycles and it was a tip from Leetsdale Police about tires being slashed that led to their arrest. Then, one of the officers spotted one of the guys on his bike.

"We ended up taking both of them into custody," English said. "They started to blame each other for the fire and then both of them confessed."

Diewald and Chorba are both in the Allegheny County Jail on $30,000 straight bond.

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