Florida Man Charged Criminally After Ignoring Police Order and Trying to Save Pets from Fire

Police in Zephryhills, Florida have charged Henry Ben Morgan with a felony for obstructing the extinguishment of a fire plus a misdemeanor for resisting arrest when he attempted to run into his burning home to save his pets and put the fire out. The pets perished, his house burned down, and he is now looking at jail time.

Sheriffs stated that they told Morgan to stay back and had to restrain him when he sought to save his pets. He kept trying to get to a window to pull his pets to safety. He lost three dogs and a cat in the fire. He is the father of three and drove up to the house after the fire had started and firefighters were already at the scene. He reacted by running to the house against the orders of police.

I can understand that such acts can make things much more difficult for firefighters and even dangerous. Citizens likely get themselves in great peril and have to be rescued at great risk for firefighters. However, a felony? Wouldn’t a ticket be enough of a lesson in such cases. Even if a misdemeanor charge is warranted, this seems a bit excessive.

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