Two of the three former Hempfield Fire Department volunteer firefighters charged with deliberately setting fires last year will have their cases decided in Lancaster County court.
Joshua Lightcap, 23, of Columbia, and Mason Howard, 21, of Akron, waived their preliminary hearings on Friday.
A 16-year-old junior firefighter from Columbia was also charged, and that case is being handled in juvenile court. That case is still pending.
In a preliminary hearing, prosecutors must present sufficient evidence that a crime was committed and that the person charged probably is responsible and, therefore, a jury or judge should hear the case at the county court level. The hearings often are waived.
According to prosecutors, two of the fires were set to sheds and the rest to fields and brush. All fires occurred between late October and late November in 2024.
No one was injured in any of the fires.
A Nov. 9, 2024, fire in Penn Township destroyed 220 corn fodder bales, causing more than $15,000 worth of damage.
Lightcap's most serious charges include arson and conspiracy to commit arson, and agricultural vandalism, which are felonies. One of his arson conspiracy charges relates to a Nov. 2, 2024, fire set at an Amtrak building in Landisville.
Howard's most serious charge is agricultural vandalism.
Other charges Lightcap and Howard face are reckless endangerment, dangerous burning, conspiracy and possession of an instrument of crime.
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https://lancasteronline.com/news/ex-hempfield-fire-department-firefighters-headed-to-court-on-firestarting-charges/article_64612bd8-d727-4e98-9ada-568235119548.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 
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