Ex-firefighter, accused of taking hostages, held for trial

ELKINS PARK, Pa. -- A former volunteer firefighter was ordered Tuesday to stand trial on charges that he held four firefighters hostage at gunpoint last month, firing one shot into a wall before surrendering.

Paul Jordan, 25, appeared at a preliminary hearing in Montgomery County and was held for trial on charges including kidnapping, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and weapons offenses.

Officials said Jordan had been in a dispute with the fire department and had been fired the night before. Authorities allege that he held the victims March 31 in the basement of LaMott Fire Company, about 10 miles north of downtown Philadelphia.

Mark Logan, president of the fire company, testified at the hearing that Jordan had a gun and at one point fired a shot at the wall, missing the head of another firefighter by inches, and also pointed the gun at himself.

"He said, 'Some of you will leave. The others in bags, including myself,'" Logan said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

As SWAT teams arrived, Logan and the other firefighters managed to talk Jordan into giving up his weapon. No one was injured.

"We asked Paul not to do it," he said. "We told him we loved him." Jordan wiped tears from his eyes during the testimony.

Defense attorney Benjamin Cooper said after the hearing that Jordan "was under a lot of stress" at the time of the March 31 hostage situation.

"There's more to it than just that day," Cooper said. "So the story will be told."