FAIR HAVEN - A local volunteer firefighter has been charged with setting a blaze at a church property before returning to help put it out.

Nicholas Joyce, 19, was arrested Saturday, after investigators determined he was responsible for the fire at the United Methodist Church, Monmouth County prosecutors said in a statement.

A day earlier, the borough's volunteer company had been called to the Ridge Road property on a report of flames coming from a shed used by a local Boy Scout troop. Joyce and other firefighters were able to contain the fire to the exterior of the shed, which the trooper uses to store supplies and other items, prosecutors said.

Over the next 24 hours, detectives with the prosecutor's office and Fair Haven police determined it had been intentionally set, and quickly zeroed in on Joyce - a former Boy Scout himself.

Joyce has been charged with second-degree aggravated arson, and was released from police custody after posting 10 percent of his $5,000 bond, prosecutors said.

His status with the fire department is unclear.

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.