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Read entire fire department statement about the arrest

Until late last year Robert Tracey Jr. was a volunteer assistant chief with the Coatesville Fire Department. He has been associated with the department for about 25-years. More recently Tracey is listed in the department's website under "staff officers" as captain (specifically as Captain 43 on West End Fire Company 3's site). A fire department statement confirms in February Robert Tracey resigned as assistant chief "to become a career firefighter with the City of Coatesville Fire Department".

Now Bob Tracey is an accused arsonist and suspended from the fire department. He was put in handcuffs at the West End Fire Company on his 37th birthday.

Tracey is the latest person to be charged in a series of fires terrorizing the community. One of the victim's in the arson spree was Robert Tracey's mother.

In the statement released Monday night, Coatesville's current assistant chief, Robert Pacana, wrote:

No words are sufficient at conveying the anger, frustration and disappointment that the officers and members of the West End Fire Company feel regarding these allegations. Should Mr. Tracey be found guilty of these charges in a court of law, he will have betrayed not only the trust of Company, but also the sacred trust of the community that he served.

The fires occurred just a short distance from where Tracey lives with his wife and five children. Investigators say Tracey did not respond on the two fires he is accused of setting.

According to Philly.com Tracey pleaded guilty in March, 2007 to a bad-checks charge. He received a sentence of 12 months' probation.

From the AP:

A firefighter whose mother was displaced in a December arson about 35 miles west of Philadelphia was charged Monday in two small trash fires set Friday night.

The fact that Robert Tracey Jr., 37, is a Coatesville firefighter made the charges particularly difficult for his colleagues, Chester County District Attorney Joseph Carroll said.

"It's especially disturbing for them that one of their own could be responsible for incidents like this," Carroll told reporters from his office in West Chester.

Captain Robert Tracey Jr.'s listing on the Coatesville FD website. Click the image to enlarge.

Tracey was identified by multiple witnesses who saw him running from the scene of Friday's fires, Carroll said. He was taken to Chester County Prison in lieu of $2 million bail.

There were no reports of injuries or significant damage in Friday's fires, which were set a few blocks from each other in Coatesville. Tracey is not charged in any of the other fires that have been set in the area, but Carroll said the investigation is continuing.

"I would love to say that this is the end, but it's not," Carroll said. "There are a number of unsolved arsons that likely cannot be tied to the suspects who have already been arrested."

Tracey is the sixth person to be arrested in connection with arson in Coatesville and nearby areas since February 2008. Dozens of deliberately set fires have plagued the area in that time, including some that displaced people from their homes and one that killed someone.

S. Lee Ruslander II, a lawyer who represented Tracey in a previous case, declined to comment when reached by phone late Monday night but said he might comment when reached at his office Tuesday.

Chester County's Daily Local News snapped this picture of a smiling Robert Tracey Jr. at at one of the arsons. Click here for the paper's coverage of this story.

On December 23, 2008 there was a suspicious fire at the home of the mother of Robert Tracey Jr. Here is what Jennifer Miller, a staff writer with the Daily Local News, wrote at that time:

Among the people displaced by the fire was the mother of Coatesville Assistant Fire Chief Bob Tracey.

Tracey said his mother lost furniture, clothes and other items but was able to salvage Christmas gifts, which were stored on the third floor. That silver lining was small comfort for Tracey, who has helped fight numerous suspicious fires this year, including the one at his mother's home.

"It's very frustrating to me right now. I just don't know where else to go with this. And they make a couple of arrests and you think it's going to stop, but it doesn't," Tracey said.

Tracey said his mother had followed the advice of fire officials to remove items from porches and to keep outside lights on at night to avoid falling victim to an arsonist, and yet she became a victim anyway.

"I really don't know what to say or how to process this," Tracey said.

Tracey also urged residents to be vigilant of activity in their neighborhoods.

# posted by Dave Statter @ 10:26 PM