Fires were set in house being built
Friday, January 26, 2007

BY NITA BIRMINGHAM

HANAHAN, South Carolina - A former city firefighter who claimed he was
a hero for spotting a fire in an upscale house under construction last
year was arrested Thursday and charged with arson, police said.

Paul Joseph Sloan, 26, of North Charleston, surrendered to Hanahan
police and was booked on a charge of second-degree arson, Sgt. Matt
Woodall said. Sloan is accused of starting fires August 24 in the
attic and master bedroom of a 3-story house on Indigo Island Drive, a
State Law Enforcement Division affidavit said. Sloan was a Hanahan
firefighter at the time.

The roof had to be replaced after the fire, which set construction
back several months. Sloan told the SLED agent that the house would
have burned down if it hadn't been for him, the affidavit said. The
house was about 70 %% complete.