Concord Monitor – N. Conway TikToker charged in dumpster fire, police say he prepared for video

A budding social media star who was charged with arson in connection with a dumpster fire that police say he started for the sake of a video has had his case sent to Carroll County Superior Court on last week.

Kevin Emmerling, 30, of North Conway, was arrested on a warrant May 7 and charged with Class B arson for allegedly starting a dumpster fire in the driveway of his home on Beechnut Drive early last month.

The dumpster belonged to Great North Woods Container Services, a company based in Berlin.

Emmerling, who was represented by the public defender's office, was arraigned May 8 and released on personal recognizance bail.

On May 29, Emmerling's arson case was transferred from Conway Circuit Court to Carroll County Superior Court after Emmerling waived probable cause. He remains free on personal commitment.

Starting this year, criminal cases are heard in the state's circuit courts before going to Superior Court. Under the old system, called Felonies First, crimes began in Superior Court.

Efforts to contact Emmerling for comment were unsuccessful; However, his father, also named Kevin Emmerling, responded to a call from The Sun.

According to the Carroll County Register of Deeds, Kevin and Pamela Emmerling of South Chatham, Massachusetts – Emmerling's parents – purchased the home on September 28, 2021. According to Zillow, the sale price was $700,000.

In a phone interview Monday, Emmerling Sr. confirmed he purchased the home several years ago. “We were thinking about retiring there,” he said, “but now we’ll probably just sell it.” »

His son, who his father said works in construction, has lived in the house for several years.

The son's LinkedIn profile lists his occupation as a construction foreman at HomeWorks Energy, Inc. in Massachusetts. He said he had been working in this position since August 2020 until today.

LinkedIn also states that the son has owned Comeback Capital Vacation Rentals in North Conway since August 2021 until present. “We focus on fully caring for a property owner’s investment property(ies). Specifically, ensuring the property is marketed, rented, cleaned and maintained,” the son’s LinkedIn profile states.

According to court documents, around 11:30 a.m. on May 3, North Conway firefighters were dispatched to the home on Beechnut Drive, which is in the Birch Hill subdivision off West Side Road, for a report of the fire. .

The caller said the fire was happening 20 feet from his house, but even closer to an RV, trailer and box truck in the home's driveway, according to a statement of probable cause prepared by Police Chief Chris Mattei.

Mattei said in his statement that he learned that Emmerling had posted on Tiktok that he planned to light a dumpster on fire. TikTok is a popular Chinese-owned short video hosting service accessible through a phone app.

North Conway Fire Chief Chad McCarthy, who responded to the fire, told Mattei that Emmerling told him the fire was an accident.

Meanwhile, Mattei found the TikTok video posted by Emmerling under the username Mr. Comeback.

“In this video, Kevin Emmerling states that he plans to release the video later today, around noon,” Mattei said. “He specifies that in this video he is going to light the 12-foot dumpster located in his driveway on fire. The dumpster contained old mattresses that he’s going to get rid of,” Mattei said.

“We’re going to light this whole thing on fire in the middle of my driveway. The funny thing is we live in a fucking fancy town and there are tons of cops… so they're definitely going to come and then we're just going to put it all on the screen,” Emmerling said, according to Mattei, who saved the video.

When Mattei confronted Emmerling at the home, Emmerling said the fire was an accident and he apologized. Mattei said: “I showed him the TikTok video and he claimed he was joking when he made the video. He said he would never have intentionally started the fire.

“Emmerling said he put the coals from his grill in the dumpster and didn't think they were hot yet. His fiancee, Emily Beaudoin, said she asked Emmerling to make a hot dog for their son,” Mattei said.

He said, “Chief McCarthy spoke with the New Hampshire Fire Marshal's Office, but they declined to respond because they did not believe we needed their assistance in the investigation.

“When Kevin Emmerling learned that the Fire Marshal's Office had been contacted, he kept asking what was going to happen,” Mattei said.

“He continued to claim it was an accident. As the minutes passed and we stood there, Kevin started telling me that he had just resolved all of his legal issues and that he didn't want to get in trouble. He offered to do community service to avoid getting in trouble and even offered to wash the fire truck for Chief McCarthy,” Mattei said.

It is unclear exactly what legal issues Emmerling was referring to. The only previous reference to him in the Sun is from Court News from the week of November 17, 2022, which states that an arrest warrant was issued for Kevin Emmerling, 29, of North Conway for failure to appear in court regarding a driving charge. after revocation or suspension.

Mattei said that at the time of the fire, Beaudoin was home with two children and a dog was in a trailer located about 10 feet from the dumpster.

Mattei also discovered that Emmerling had livestreamed the fire on a platform called Twitch. In the video, Mattei says Emmerling is shown entering the house after firefighters arrived.

“He tells Emily he's not in trouble and just told them he accidentally threw hot coals in the dumpster. He then tells his son, who is excited to see the fire truck, “Daddy did that for fun, sorry.” Emily asks if he is going to get in trouble and he says he would only get in trouble if he said he did it on purpose,” Mattei wrote in the probable cause statement.

After arresting Emmerling, Mattei questioned him at the police station. Emmerling said he was trying to “start a small fire in the dumpster to get content for his social media feed, but the fire got out of control.”

Great North Woods Container Services told Mattei the dumpster was worth about $5,000 and could be a total loss.

When asked what the dumpster was doing in the driveway, Emmerling Sr. said they were spring cleaning, “just to get rid of some trash.”

Asked if he planned to hire an attorney or let the public defender's office continue to handle the case, Emmerling Sr. told The Sun, “It will be handled properly.” »

Of his son, he said: “He’s just a kid. It was a mistake and we are taking care of it.

Circuit Court Judge Christopher Keating, in his May 8 bail order, said that (with the exception of uninstalling apps), Emmerling “must not use, visit or engage in social media activities, including but not limited to TikTok and Twitch.”

Editor Margaret McKenzie contributed to this article.