Maryland firefighters charged after flooding baseball field with truck hose during long-running feud
Two Maryland firefighters are facing charges after a hose stunt that flooded a baseball field used by a collegiate team in July. Montgomery County Fire Capt. Christopher Reilly and firefighter Alan Barnes are each facing three misdemeanor charges for the incident. The charges include two counts of malicious destruction of property and one count of disorderly conduct.
The Montgomery County Fire Rescue Service has stated that they take the matter very seriously and are cooperating with the investigation. Both Reilly and Barnes have been removed from operational duties pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Defense attorney Richard Finci explained that the hosing incident was a result of an ongoing dispute between the firefighters and baseball players who frequently hit balls onto fire department property.
The firefighters allegedly flooded the Montgomery Blair High School baseball field in Silver Spring after a baseball hit one of their trucks parked adjacent to the field. The incident occurred during a game of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League team, the Silver Spring Takoma Thunderbolts. The game had to be canceled, resulting in a loss of revenue for the team.
According to reports, Reilly admitted to letting the water flow for about a minute before cutting it off. Barnes was said to have positioned the truck but did not operate the spigot. The field was left drenched as gallons of water flooded the area. The incident stemmed from frustration over baseballs constantly landing on fire department property.
The Thunderbolts founder and director, Dick O’Connor, expressed disappointment over the situation, stating that the team had to cancel the game due to the flooding. The wooden-bat baseball league team lost a night’s worth of revenue as a result. The ongoing feud between the firefighters and baseball players led to this watery retaliation, resulting in criminal charges for the two individuals involved.
