![\"Bridge](\"http:\/\/edmonton.ctvnews.ca\/polopoly_fs\/1.2876118.1461710411!\/httpImage\/image.jpg_gen\/derivatives\/landscape_225\/image.jpg\" "\\"Bridge")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nFlames engulf a trestle bridge near Mayerthorpe, Alberta on Tuesday, April 26, 2016. Courtesy: Russell Claybrook\/Guy White<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t see this coming,\u201d he said. \u201c[Schalm] started as a junior member at 15 and our cadet program emphasizes great community service [and] exists to cultivate the spirit of volunteering in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s heart-breaking because there is a sense of trust,\u201d Schroeder told reporters in a news conference on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause firefighting is so dangerous, we take it very seriously when there are set fires and we take it personally because we\u2019re out there protecting the public,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
RCMP said tips from the public led investigators to eventually arrest the volunteer firefighter.<\/p>\n
Schroeder said Schalm was a \u201cgreat firefighter\u201d who was destined to be a long-standing member of the department.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was on five of the scenes [in question] as an active firefighter and at least four as a bystander,\u201d said Schroeder. \u201cWe weren\u2019t focusing on an internal problem, we were focusing on the problem at large.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to town Mayor Kate Patrick, everyone is thankful police have made an arrest, but\u00a0distraught to find out it was someone they all knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe community is saddened to hear about the arrest [\u2026] but are happy to know it\u2019s been successfully completed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Parick confirmed that Schalm was also a member of the Lac Ste. Anne County Fire Services and the son of former town mayor, Albert Schalm \u2013 who was in office when four RCMP officers were shot and killed near Mayerthorpe in 2005.<\/p>\n
“Total shock. As a family how do you deal with that? You can’t prepare for that because you don’t see it coming,” Albert told CTV News.<\/p>\n
The devastated father said the family found out about the charges on Saturday night through social media. He hasn’t spoken to his son yet, but stands by him.<\/p>\n
“He’s a good kid […] wherever this ends up Lawson will always have a place at my table […] he is my son and I love him deeply,” said Albert. “Lawson is going to grow from this […] we’re going to be stronger as a community and as a family.”<\/p>\n
Patrick issued a plea for the community to support the Schalm family in their time of need.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are a well-respected and very nice family and want the community to move forward,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Mayerthorpe\u2019s fire chief is also aiming to regain the trust of his community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to provide the best exemplary service that we have always provided,\u201d Schroeder said.<\/p>\n
Over the past several weeks, additional resources were brought into the community as crews worked \u201caround the clock\u201d to extinguish the string of blazes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the height of this [past] week we were running calls an hour to an hour and a half apart. With the trestle [bridge fire] we were 12 to 14 hours on that scene,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Schalm will remain in custody until his first court appearance in Stony Plain Provincial Court on May 4.<\/p>\n
___
\nhttp:\/\/edmonton.ctvnews.ca\/betrayal-mayerthorpe-fire-chief-reacts-to-arson-charges-against-volunteer-firefighter-1.2882597<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37248\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Mayerthorpe](\"http:\/\/edmonton.ctvnews.ca\/polopoly_fs\/1.2882761.1462136860!\/httpImage\/image.jpg_gen\/derivatives\/landscape_225\/image.jpg\" "\\"Mayerthorpe")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Lawson](\"http:\/\/edmonton.ctvnews.ca\/polopoly_fs\/1.2882599.1462122597!\/httpImage\/image.jpg_gen\/derivatives\/landscape_225\/image.jpg\" "\\"Lawson")
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