05/20/2026
NEWS RELEASE: NEW HAMPSHIRE FIREFIGHTER PLEADS GUILTY TO MULTIPLE COUNTS OF ARSON
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.H. – A certified New Hampshire firefighter was sentenced to spend at least a year in jail after pleading guilty to setting fires in multiple Rockingham County communities.
At a plea and sentencing hearing held Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Rockingham County Superior Court, Austen M. Cooper, of Raymond, pleaded guilty to three counts of felony arson to real estate and one count of felony possession of an infernal machine.
The case concluded after a lengthy and complicated serial arson investigation that began four years ago. Investigators with the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office determined Cooper intentionally set brush fires on the Rockingham Recreational Rail Trail, near Prescott Road in Raymond, and within the John B. Folsom Conservation Land, on Joshua Lane in Epping, between April and May of 2022. Investigators also determined Cooper set fire to a structure at the Welch Baseball Fields on Freemont Road in Raymond on July 30, 2022.
The felony count of possession of an infernal machine was related to the Epping incident, where investigators determined Cooper left an incendiary device behind.
Cooper, who formerly lived in Huntingburg, Indiana, was a certified New Hampshire firefighter at the time of the offenses. As a result of his guilty pleas, Cooper will serve a total of 19 months, with 14 months remaining on his sentence. Cooper has been incarcerated since he was apprehended in Indiana and transported back to New Hampshire by the United States Marshals Service in December 2025.
If Cooper violates the terms of his probation for 10 years after his release, he will be subjected to a State Prison sentence for as long as five years. The Rockingham County Superior Court order also prohibits Cooper from applying to, or becoming a member of, any type of fire department, fire service, or emergency response service.
Due to these felony convictions, the Office of the State Fire Marshal is working closely with the New Hampshire Division of Fire Standards and Training & Emergency Medical Services to petition for the revocation of Cooper’s New Hampshire firefighter certifications, pursuant to the Fire Standards and Training Commission Administrative Rules.
This serial arson investigation was led by the New Hampshire Office of the State Fire Marshal – Bureau of Investigations, in coordination with the Rockingham County Attorney’s Office, Raymond Police Department, Raymond Fire Department, Epping Police Department, Epping Fire Department, Manchester Police Department, the Forest Protection Bureau within the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, United States Marshals Service, the Huntingburg, Indiana Fire Department, and the Huntingburg, Indiana Police Department.
Arson is a serious crime that can result in death, serious injuries, property damage, and high costs. Anyone with information on someone committing acts of arson in the state can call the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office’s Arson Hotline at 1(800) 400-3526. All calls are strictly confidential.
