Man Charged With Impersonating Firefighter Posts Bond

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - A man accused of pretending to be a firefighter on the High Park Fire lines is out of jail.

Michael Maher, 30, left the Larimer County Courthouse Monday night.

"Are you really a firefighter?" CBS4's Valerie Castro asked Maher after he bonded out of jail.

"I'm not supposed to say anything," Maher said.

"If the allegations are true, to pretend that you are a part of group of people fighting this fire is certainly difficult for us to understand," Castro said.

Maher told investigators he got an identification from the U.S. Department of Agriculture but had been fired from his job, according to court documents. It's not clear if he worked at the department. He also said he received the government plates he had on his vehicle from a friend. The plates were found to be stolen out of the Glenwood Springs area.

Maher is a registered sex offender, after being arrested for a sex crime involving a teenager.

This is also not the first time he has been accused of impersonating a firefighter.

Larimer County authorities said Maher was inside Rist Canyon over the weekend attempting to steal radios and batteries meant for the firefighters. They don't believe he entered any homes. He was arrested at a bar in Laporte after law enforcement spotted his vehicle. A gun was found inside.

On Maher's Facebook page CBS4 found a picture of Maher posing with Gov. John Hickenlooper last Friday. In other pictures he is seen wearing firefighter gear.

Maher's next court appearance is scheduled for June 25.