Volunteer firefighter accused of setting brush fire on Long Island

MEDFORD, N.Y. (AP) — A volunteer firefighter was arrested for intentionally setting a brush fire on Long Island in New York, police said Wednesday.

The 20-year-old defendant and volunteer firefighter for the hamlet of Medford on Long Island set a fire in a wooded area at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Suffolk County Police Department said in a news release.

The fire damaged a car that was parked nearby, police said.

The defendant was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on charges of arson and reckless endangerment. It wasn’t clear if he had an attorney who could speak for him.

Dozens of fires have broken out in New York and across the Northeast in the past few days amid bone-dry weather conditions.