From the "It's Just Creepy" File...

...we have volunteer firemen who set fires so that they can put them out. The latest incarnation recently happened in Susquehanna County.

Employee admitted setting Bingham's Fire.

Now I know that this kind of behavior is by far and away the exception, but I always find it interestingly creepy that you hear about volunteer firemen setting fires just to put them out, but you almost never hear of professional firemen doing this sort of thing. We did have a fireman guilty of setting a fire in Scranton, but that was a scam to get insurance money (as less enlightened person would use the phrase "Jewish Lightening").

This does point to one of the reasons why I choose to live in a city: professional services. Nothing against volunteer firemen, but I feel better knowing that myself, my family and my property are protected by full-time, professional public safety employees. Those folks in Scranton, particularly the Scranton Police Department, are really, really terrific. I've never had a bad experience with a Scranton Police Officer, and in fact years ago I had to deal with an officer over a very sensitive issue and he could not have been any more professional.