Dale B. Nason, 49, of Buxton was sentenced last week in federal district court to serve two months in jail for his role in falsifying fire extinguisher tests, according to U.S. Attorney Paula D. Silsby.
Nason owns Statewide Fire Protection on River Road in Buxton.
U.S. District Judge George Singal also imposed a term of home detention of four months and a three-year period of supervised release to follow that, Nason was also ordered to make restitution to the victims of the crime.
Nason pled guilty in July to 18 violations of the Federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Law. The violations date from May 2001 to July 2004. Nason had been released on $2,500 bail while waiting for sentencing.
His customers had included schools, hospitals, fire departments, businesses, and government agencies in southern Maine. Fire extinguishers in all SAD 6 schools had been tested by Nason’s company, but school officials said last summer it had switched companies after learning about problems at Statewide Fire Protection.
Nason admitted that he falsely told his customers that he conducted required tests on their high-pressure carbon dioxide fire extinguishers and that the extinguishers met the specifications. In fact, Nason did not even have the equipment necessary to conduct the tests. Additionally, Nason admitted placing counterfeit retester identification numbers on the cylinders so his customers and inspectors would mistakenly believe that the extinguishers met the standards.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
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