[C]HARLOTTE — A local firefighter has been suspended from the Charlotte Volunteer Fire & Rescue after he was charged with lighting his children’s hands on fire.
Levi G. Dykema, 29, of Ferrisburgh pleaded not guilty last month in Addison County Superior Court to three counts of reckless endangerment. He was accused of applying hand sanitizer to the hands of his three children and lighting it.
Police said the children — ages 5, 7 and 10 — were not injured, despite the dangerous nature of the incident.
Vergennes police officer Mark Barber said in an affidavit, obtained by VTDigger, that Dykema described the incident in a statement to police as an “educational experience to prevent poor decisions.”
Police said they were first contacted about the incident by Dykema’s former wife, Crystal Lucia, who became aware of it when the children told her about recent activities while visiting their father’s home.
Lucia also informed police of videos, showing some “science and fire tricks” Dykema was conducting with the children, that were posted to his Facebook page. The videos — including one showing a hand being ignited with a lighter — are considered part of the case, although his Facebook account appears to have been deleted.
A message left with a phone number associated with Dykema’s name was not returned.
Dykema’s lawyer, Devin McLaughlin, questioned the decision to take the case to court. “We’re disappointed that it’s being criminally charged,” he said.
Fire department Chief Dick St. George said Dykema was placed on administrative leave and will remain so until the case is over. Charlotte Fire & Rescue President Tom Cosinuke declined comment, saying it involved a personnel matter.
Nine years ago, another child of the couple — 2 months old at the time — was killed in an automobile accident. The Buffalo (New York) News reported that while traveling in a sport utility vehicle from Vermont to Indiana, the then 20-year-old Dykema fell asleep at the wheel and crashed, killing the infant and injuring his wife — then known as Crystal Dykema — and another child. Levi Dykema was not charged in the incident.
Three years ago, the Addison Independent reported that Dykema pleaded guilty to a charge of domestic violence. He was ordered to complete a court-ordered program and not harass the victim.
Dykema and Lucia are scheduled to appear in Chittenden County Family Court this week for a review of their child-support order.
His next date in Addison County Superior Court on the reckless endangerment charges is March 26.
