A young Fair Haven volunteer firefighter was arrested on Saturday and could face up to 10 years in prison on a charge in connection with a Friday arson in the borough in which he serves after also responding as a firefighter to extinguish the blaze, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni announced in a released statement.

Nicholas Joyce, 19, of Fair Haven, also a former boy scout in the borough, was arrested on one count of second-degree aggravated arson after he allegedly set fire to a storage shed on Friday afternoon on the property of the United Methodist Church at 300 Ridge Road, the release said.

The Fair Haven Fire Department, Joyce included, responded on Friday, April 1, at 4:28 p.m., to a report of a fire in the back of the church property at a storage shed belonging to a local scout troop, the release added. Responding firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, which was contained to the exterior of the shed.

A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and Fair Haven Police Department resulted in Joyce’s arrest the next day, Saturday. The investigation revealed that Joyce had allegedly set fire to the shed, returned to the fire house and then responded to the scene with other firefighters when the fire was reported, according to the Prosecutor.

Joyce was released from custody after posting $5,000 bail with a 10 percent option, set by Municipal Court Judge James Berube.
If convicted of Aggravated Arson, Joyce faces up to ten years in a New Jersey state prison, subject to the No Early Release Act (N.E.R.A.), requiring that he serve 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

The case has been assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Decker.