Two volunteer firefighters in Cape Breton have been charged with arson after a string of fires in the community.

James Clayton MacDonald, 24, of Bras d'Or and Stephen Tremblett, 49, of North Sydney were arrested Thursday and held in police custody overnight. They are both with the Florence Volunteer Fire Department.

The charges follow several suspicious fires in recent months, Cape Breton Regional Police Chief Peter McIsaac said Friday.

Abandoned buildings set on fire

MacDonald, who is charged with 16 counts of arson, was arraigned by video from the Cape Breton Correctional Facility. He did not enter a plea.

Tremblett, who faces 12 charges, appeared in person. Both have been remanded until a bail hearing on Monday.

Police say several abandoned buildings were set on fire in and around Florence and Bras d'Or since the start of the summer.

All the fires are alleged to have been set in vacant buildings.

Fire department 'speechless'

The chief of the Florence Volunteer Fire Department says his members were stunned when they learned that two of their own had been charged. Their fire department has been fighting many of the suspicious fires.

"We were speechless when we heard the news," Dave Julian said. "There were 20 firemen standing in a room together and nobody talked for 20 minutes."

He said the suspects are "like family."

"It is very hurtful."

This abandoned house in Florence burned June 30. (George Mortimer/CBC)

What motivates arson?

Julian said the accused were great firefighters.

"If there was a dirty job that nobody else wanted to do, they would volunteer for it," he said.

He said he can only speculate as to what would motivate anyone to set fires.

"The thrill of lighting the fire, or the thrill of putting it out or the thrill of responding to the fire — the hero complex, I guess," he said.

"It's known as firefighter arson. It happens all over, just usually not 16 counts of it."