MORGANTON, N.C. — A man has been accused of impersonating a firefighter at the scene of a deadly house fire in Morganton early Wednesday morning.
Shortly after midnight, the Morganton Department of Public Safety responded to a fire at a duplex on Morehead Street.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, they found a neighbor, dressed in what was reported to be New York City Fire Department turn-out gear, attempting to put out the fire with a garden hose.
Firefighters said they attempted to take over, but the man refused to leave the property or allow professionals to begin ground operations.
Eventually, the man, 37-year-old Christopher Victor Miglino, was arrested.
He was ultimately charged with resisting, delaying, or obstructing a public officer, impersonating a firefighter or medical personnel, and violating a city ordinance.
Miglino was also convicted of burning a building under construction in Mitchell County in 2007.
His wife told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty that Miglino is a former firefighter with the New York City Fire Department, and he was trying to keep the flames away from their home.
She said she doesn’t feel like he should be charged.
“No, absolutely not. He was just trying to take care of our family. And to make sure everybody next door was OK. He used to be a New York fireman. He runs outside to see those apartments in flames,” she explained.
However, a spokesperson with the New York City Fire Department said they did not have anyone with the name Miglino who has ever been employed at the department.
The spokesperson told Faherty on Thursday that the coat Miglino was wearing “is not an official FDNY coat” and had been “altered to include FDNY letters.”
Miglino is being held without bond until his court date in April.
Officials believe the person who died in the fire was Yvonne Jamison, however, they still need positive identification from the autopsy to confirm that.
Morganton firefighters found the origin of the fire but have not determined the cause.
The investigation is ongoing.
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