NJ Firefighter Set 2 Cable Vans On Fire In Bergen County: Prosecutor

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A Passaic County man, who works as a firefighter, was charged with arson after officials said he set two of his former company's cable service vans on fire in Bergen County.

The incident happened Oct. 19 at an Optimum store in Oakland, said Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella.

Randy S. McMaster, 42, of Bloomingdale, was charged with second-degree aggravated arson, third-degree arson, and third-degree criminal mischief after his arrest on Thursday, Musella said.

McMaster's LinkedIn page lists him as both a lieutenant for the Bloomingdale Fire Department, and a field service supervisor at telecommunications provider Altice USA.

Altice, which owns Optimum and several media organizations, confirmed to Patch that McMaster was fired after the incident.

"The safety of our people is our priority," the company said in a statement. "The individual in question was immediately terminated upon completion of an internal investigation and local authorities were promptly notified of the incident."

Bloomingdale Fire officials did not immediately return Patch's request for comment. McMaster's LinkedIn profile indicates he has worked for the department since 2015, and was employed by Altice for more than 4 years after working for Cablevision.

Prosecutors say that on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, at approximately 3:15 p.m., the Oakland Police Department received a 911 call reporting a fire at the Optimum store located at 40 Potash Road.

Police saw two Optimum service vans with smoke and fire damage, prosecutors said. Both vehicles were in the rear of the parking lot, and the fire had been put out prior to the arrival of the Oakland Police and Fire departments.

An investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit and the Oakland Police Department determined that McMaster intentionally set fire to both vehicles, prosecutors said.

After his arrest, he was taken to Bergen County Jail. He now awaits his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, prosecutors said.