Florida man sets a $500k fire to try and become a firefighter

A Florida man with lofty career goals took a misguided approach to his future earlier this month when he lit a fire in the hopes of becoming a county firefighter, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

The newspaper's FloriDUH blog reported firefighters and police responded to a call on July 6 about a fire at the East Hernando library branch in Brooksville, Florida. When they arrived, an 18-year-old man dressed in full firefighting garb stood nearby.

Police later issued a statement saying the man had bought his outfit on eBay, started the fire in the library and then waited to help extinguish the flames, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

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They didn't let him help. In fact, the sheriff's office called him in for an interview about his suspicious behaviour, according to the story. At first the man said he had heard the emergency call on a police scanner and came to help.

Finally, he admitted to setting the fire that caused $500,000 in damage.

Police have Joseph Michael Brannen with second degree arson, according to Hernando Today. His bail was set at $3,000 and he's due to appear in court on Aug. 8.

As several commenters joked, let's be thankful he wasn't an aspiring murder investigator.