Woman arrested for stabbing a fire hose while Dallas firefighters battled blaze
Dallas police officers arrested a woman early Friday morning for allegedly stabbing a fire hose while Dallas firefighters were combating a house fire.
The fire started just before 1 a.m. at a house on Prosperity Avenue near Bonnie View Road in East Oak Cliff. No one was injured, and the cause fire is under investigation, a Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesperson said.
While the firefighters were working, a woman who lived in the neighborhood approached the scene and allegedly stabbed a fire hose multiple times, causing water to spray from the hose. Video from the scene shows water shooting out from at least six punctures in the fire hose. Despite the holes, the firefighters were able to extinguish the fire.
DFR investigators found that the fire began in a front room of the house and was incendiary in nature. The investigation determined that an unknown heat source was used to ignite combustibles in the room of origin.
DFR said the suspect was determined to be 37-year-old Jermecia Denise Murphy, of Dallas, after multiple people on scene witnessed her admitting to setting the fire as she stabbed the fire hose.
"Thankfully, no one was inside the house when the fire was set, so there were no injuries reported," DFR said in a statement.
Murphy is currently in jail for a criminal mischief charge. DFR said she will also be charged with first-degree arson.