Former firefighter admits to setting fires at his Standish home, court records say
A Standish resident and former firefighter who was arrested Wednesday morning on charges of arson and failure to report a fire admitted to setting a series of garage fires at his Standish home last month, according to court records.
Timothy Nickels, 42, was taken into custody after his release from Maine Medical Center, where state investigators from the Maine State Fire Marshal Office had encouraged him to go for an emergency mental health evaluation following the fires.
According to investigators, Nickels did not report the last and largest of three fires at 23 River Meadows Drive after setting the fire in the garage early that morning while his mother was asleep in the basement, but instead fled the scene. No one was injured in any of the fires he allegedly set, but the last fire destroyed the garage.
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Former firefighter faces arson charges in connection with 2 fires at his Standish home
Nickels did report a smaller fire he allegedly set the previous night at around 9:30 p.m. but did not admit to igniting it until repeated questioning by investigators after the following morning’s fire.
Nickels initially blamed the second fire on two unidentified males that he claimed entered his garage and fled. Camera footage from a neighbor’s residence showed that no such people entered or fled the garage, and that Nickels had quickly driven away from the fire and residence. He admitted to lying after investigators told him about the contradictory footage and repeated questioning.
According to accounts from state fire investigators Jeremy Damren and Michael Coffin, who interviewed Nickels following the last fire, Nickels accepted responsibility for his actions and expressed remorse. He told the investigators he’d experienced significant emotional stress recently. He said he did not intend to harm his wife or mother, who were both inside his residence during at least one of the fires.
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Nickels eventually explained to police that he purposefully ignited the first fire on July 22 in his garage. He said after accidentally spilling mixed gasoline while organizing the garage’s third bay, he started a fire with burning paper and matches, claiming that he thought the fire would only consume the spilled fuel and some unwanted items.
When the fire spread, he said he closed the garage doors and left the area without initially reporting it, claiming that he had hoped the fire would extinguish on its own.
Roughly 10 minutes after Nickels entered his home where his wife and mother were located, the wife smelled smoke and saw an orange glow through the garage window. Nickels attempted to use a fire extinguisher on the blaze and called 911, according to court records.
The Standish Fire Department responded at approximately 9:30 p.m. and put out the fire, suspecting, though not confirming, that it had been caused by a lithium-ion battery.
Nickels told authorities after repeated questioning that he lit a second fire the following morning after waking up at approximately 4:15 a.m.
He told investigators he had accidentally spilled diesel additives while searching for an item in the garage and attempted to use burning paper as a light source when he unintentionally ignited the fuel. Instead of reporting the fire or warning others in the house, he panicked, closed the garage door and drove to work in Gorham.
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After driving away, he reportedly called the Cumberland County Regional Communications Center and fabricated a report of the two unidentified males fleeing from his garage.
Nickels was a candidate in the June Republican primary for Maine House District 85, covering part of Standish. He lost to Adrienne Paul, 729 to 301.
He served with fire departments in Cumberland County for 22 years and medically retired because of post-traumatic stress disorder, he told the Press Herald in May.
Family members told investigators that Nickels has been hospitalized in the past for mental health treatment. They said recent family deaths had harmed him mentally, but that he had shown improvement in recent weeks.
His family described him as a helpful and action-oriented person, referencing his campaign for the House seat, his assistance to first responders and disaster victims and running his Ember Paws of Hope program.
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Tagged: Arson, crime, fire safety
Madeleine is a community reporter for Gorham, Buxton and Standish. She started her journalism career in Vermont, where she reported for Seven Days and served as the editor-in-chief of Middlebury College's. More by Madeleine Kaptein
