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Veteran Responder Charged With Torching Service Vans At Bergen Optimum Store

A veteran firefighter from Passaic County torched two Optimum service vans behind the company’s Oakland store, said authorities who arrested him on Thursday.

Randy S. McMaster Jr.

Randy S. McMaster Jr.

Photo Credit: INSET: BCJ / OTHER: FACEBOOK

Randy S. McMaster Jr., 42, of Bloomingdale, intentionally set the fires that were reported behind the Potash Road store at 3:15 p.m. Oct. 19, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.

The blazes were quickly suppressed, leaving both service vehicles with fire and smoke damage, before emergency responders arrived, the prosecutor said following McMasters's arrest on Nov. 16.

A father of two, McMaster lives in the Waterfall Village off Hamburg Turnpike and is unemployed now, according to Musella. He previously worked for cable companies Altice USA and Cablevision, according to his LinkedIn profile.

McMaster joined the Bloomingdale Fire Department in 2015 and was promoted to 1st lieutenant this past January, the profile says.

His current status couldn’t immediately be determined.

McMaster was charged with aggravated arson, arson and criminal mischief following an investigation by Musella’s Major Crimes Unit and Oakland police. They were assisted by the Oakland Fire Department and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Criminal Identification, which collected and analyzed evidence.

He remained held in the Bergen County Jail, pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack. 

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