A Mayerthorpe volunteer firefighter has been charged in connection with a series of fires, including one that caused the destruction of a CN Railway bridge.
On Saturday, April 30, Mayerthorpe RCMP arrested and charged 19-year-old Lawson Michael Schalm with 18 counts of arson.
Schalm, who is the son of former Mayerthorpe mayor and current Northern Gateway Public Schools trustee Albert Schalm, first joined the Mayerthorpe Fire Department when he was 15 years old as part of the department’s cadet program.
He became a full-fledged member of the department when he turned 18 and was preparing to graduate from high school in two months.
Mayerthorpe fire chief Randy Schroeder said the fire department was disappointed to find out one of the department’s own might be connected with a number of suspicious fires.
“We didn’t see this coming,” Schroeder said, during a press conference in Mayerthorpe on May 1. “The aspect of what we do to protect the community, the lengths at which we strive in order to train is devastating.”
Schroeder added Schalm was part of the department’s efforts to fight the railway trestle bridge.
On April 26, more than 30 firefighters from Woodlands County, Lac Ste Anne, Mayerthorpe and Agriculture and Forestry services members, helicopters and a water bomber helped douse the blaze.
Mayerthorpe mayor Kate Patrick echoed Schroeder, calling the situation heartbreaking.
“The community is saddened to hear of the arrest of this person but are happy to know it’s been successfully completed,” Patrick said.
She also added she hopes the community respects the Schalm family.
“They’re well-respected, a very nice family. We want the community to move forward and honestly respect them,” Patrick said.
Schalm will remain in custody until he makes his first court appearance on May 4 in Stony Plain Provincial Court.
For more details on the CN Railway bridge fire see Page 1 of this week’s Town &Country.
-With files from Global TV
