Fake Firefighter Arrested

[RescueKujo 130]

In light of the Feds restricting Volunteers at Disaster Sites....

OCDA ARRESTS HUNTINGTON BEACH FELON FOR IMPERSONATING A FIRE FIGHTER AT

DISASTER SCENES INCLUDING HURRICANE KATRINA AND WORLD TRADE CENTER

WESTMINSTER - The Orange County District Attorney's Office (OCDA) arrested a

convicted

felon accused of impersonating a Los Angeles County Fire Fighter Paramedic after

serving

a search warrant on his Huntington Beach home this morning following a two month

investigation. James Charles Campbell, 44, was arrested at the scene and booked

at the

Orange County jail on $20,000 bail. He is expected to be charged prior to his

arraignment

date, which is yet to be set.

Campbell has prior felony convictions in Arizona related to burglaries and the

fraudulent

misuse of credit cards. He was working in Arizona as an emergency medical

technician for

a local ambulance company, where his paramedic license was later revoked based

on his

felony convictions. Campbell obtained an Emergency Medical Technician license

in May

1995 in the state of California. That license was revoked in November 1997 for

his failure

to disclose his prior felony convictions.

Campbell was arrested at his home shortly before 8:00 a.m. today by OCDA

investigators.

He is accused of possessing a handgun and a shotgun and stolen Los Angeles

County Fire

Department equipment in his house.

Between 2001 and the present, Campbell is accused of pretending to be a Los

Angeles Fire

Department Paramedic Captain who flies helicopters for the Department. He is

accused of

obtaining a uniform with Los Angeles patches and a badge, and carrying a wallet

badge

and firefighter identification with him at all times. Campbell is accused of

carrying a

firearm, which is a crime based on his prior felony convictions. The defendant

is accused

of showing up at the scenes of national and local disasters including the World

Trade

Center after September 11, 2001, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and

Hurricane Dean,

and falsely representing himself as a Los Angeles County Fire Fighter Paramedic.

He is

accused of gaining access to secure fire areas in California and being on the

front line of

the Sawtooth fire in San Bernardino County and the Esperanza fire in Riverside

County with

a video camera. He is accused of being present at the Placentia Metrolink

accident.

Campbell owns an Anaheim business, Frontline Safety Products, which sells fire

safety

equipment online and offers cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training

courses. Under

the false pretense of being a firefighter, Campbell has been hired to teach CPR

to local

Southern California government agencies and private industries.

Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Supervising District

Attorney

Investigator Clint McCall at (714) 347-8814.

Deputy District Attorney Andre Manssourian of the Special Prosecutions Unit is

prosecuting this case.

[E58RET 24]

ou know whta they say about Calif. ,its like a bowl of cereal, you take out the fruit and the nuts and you are still left with the flakes

[LED138 10]

It is me or is that article poorly written. I think they could have left out a few "is accused of".

[JBE 328]

Although this guy is probably one of those buffs that went way over the line, the whole "accused of" thing is just the legal formality. Innocent till proven guilty. Gotta admit, if he runs a business that sells safety equipment, how hard could it be for him to get his hands on some of that stuff??

[Geppetto 31]

Fake firefighter showed up at disasters

Sat Sep 8, 3:59 PM ET

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - James Campbell seemed to relish being a firefighter, showing up in uniform at the World Trade Center, train wrecks, the aftermaths of hurricanes including Katrina and wildfires.

He even posed for his driver's license photo in a Los Angeles County firefighter's uniform.

The problem is, authorities say, he was never a firefighter.

Police arrested Campbell on Friday on suspicion of impersonating a firefighter, possession of stolen property and being a felon in possession of firearms.

Inside his apartment, officers said, they found a pile of official gear: dress uniform, flight suit, yellow firefighting suit, department patches, fire helmet, wallet badge and an L.A. County Fire Department radio. On Campbell's walls were hundreds of framed photos of him at disaster sites in uniform, authorities said.

"This is a guy who really wanted to be a firefighter. He wanted to act as a hero," Orange County Deputy District Attorney Andre Manssourian said.

Campbell even created a DVD of some of his firefighting excursions, which may have been used to promote his business, Frontline Safety Products, which sold safety equipment and taught first aid courses, mostly to construction companies and government agencies, Manssourian said.

Despite his efforts, Campbell had no chance of being a real firefighter. While working as a paramedic in Arizona, he was convicted of credit card fraud in 1987. His paramedic's license was revoked and the felony would have prevented him from joining the Los Angeles County Fire Department, authorities said.

"The public puts a lot of trust in firefighters," said Fire Department spokesman Sam Padilla. "People don't think twice about an unknown man with big baggy clothes or a uniform. It's a shame that someone is pretending to be a firefighter to take that trust and bend it, distort it."

[LED138 10]

I understand the whole "innocent until proven guilty" but maybe list the charges in the same area, not a paragraph here, there, there. He is accused of, blah, blah, blah.. Just my $.02

[Danger 160]

Los

Angeles Fire

Department Paramedic Captain who flies helicopters for the Department.

Wow, he sure has some imagination! I wonder if he ever moonlights on the weekends as a astronaut/cowboy.

[JetPhoto 626]

Like the fire service doesn't have enough problems of our own with firefighters breaking the law. Then add the "Fake" firefighters to the picture and it all looks the same, those damn firefighters!

[ex-commish 490]

Despite his efforts, Campbell had no chance of being a real firefighter. While working as a paramedic in Arizona, he was convicted of credit card fraud in 1987. His paramedic's license was revoked and the felony would have prevented him from joining the Los Angeles County Fire Department, authorities said.

I think this sums it up...

[Oswegowind 17]

We have a term for him in Yonkers:

14 fornicating B!!!!!!!