A former New Hampshire firefighter is headed to jail for more than a year after admitting he set a string of brush and structure fires across Rockingham County. Austen M. Cooper of Raymond pleaded guilty to multiple felony arson charges and an explosive-device offense, and court records show he will serve a total of 19 months, with roughly 14 months still to go. Investigators say the 2022 fires in Raymond and Epping put public trails and a youth baseball facility at risk.
As reported by The Boston Globe, Cooper entered his guilty plea in Rockingham County Superior Court last Tuesday to three counts of felony arson to real estate and one count of felony possession of an infernal machine. The state fire marshal’s office said Cooper, who was a certified New Hampshire firefighter at the time of the fires, has been locked up since December and will serve 19 months in all, with about 14 months remaining. Officials also said Cooper is barred from joining any fire department or emergency response service and could face up to five years in state prison if he violates probation within 10 years after his release.
Authorities say Cooper previously failed to appear on the original charges and was later tracked to Indiana before being brought back to New Hampshire. Newport Dispatch reported that deputies in Martin County, Indiana, arrested him in November and that he was extradited to Rockingham County the following month. Scanner Alerts Media noted that the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Rockingham County Attorney’s Office handled the transfer.
Where investigators say the fires were set
According to investigators, citing a release from the state fire marshal, Cooper set a series of brush fires on a recreational rail trail in Raymond between April and May 2022 and torched brush inside a conservation property in Epping, where an incendiary device was left behind, The Boston Globe reported. Fire officials also connected Cooper to a July 2022 blaze that damaged a structure at the Welch Baseball Fields in Raymond. Prosecutors have not publicly offered a motive.
Why it matters
The case has drawn attention because it involves a certified firefighter, a role built on public trust, and because the fires targeted public recreation spaces used by families and youth sports teams. Cooper remains in custody while he serves his sentence, and local officials say they will lean on strict probation conditions and the ban on emergency-service work to limit future risk, with the investigation record preserved in court files.
