Firefighter accused of damaging fire station, trying to take grill after night of drinking

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - A New Hanover County firefighter is accused of damaging the Wilmington Fire Department’s headquarters and trying to take a grill after a night of drinking.

Jennifer Dandron, spokeswoman for the Wilmington Police Department, said officers were called out to Fire Station 1 at 801 Market Street just before 1 a.m. Monday for a welfare check on a man who was “cursing, yelling, throwing things toward the fire station and stumbling.”

A witness told police he heard someone making loud noises and beating on the windows at the fire station. When the witness went to check things out, he saw a man identified as Tyler James Morris, 25, of Wilmington, standing next to two broken window screens.

Police also found a grill from the fire station in the middle of a nearby sidewalk with Morris’ jacket beside it.

Morris, a firefighter and apparatus operator for New Hanover County Fire Rescue, admitted to police that he had been drinking earlier that night.

He was taken into custody and charged with damage to real property and attempted larceny. He was given a $1,000 unsecured bond. His next court date is March 18.

Morris is currently on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case.

He has been with New Hanover County Fire Rescue since Nov. 2016.

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