SPRINGFIELD (AP) – Two former Brimfield firefighters who pleaded guilty to arson charges have been sentenced to three years in jail.

The families of Patrick Elliott and Brian Findlay wept Friday as the men were taken from Hampden Superior Court to start their sentences, which stemmed from fires they admitted setting in vacant homes in Brimfield and Holland last year.

CBS Channel 3 of Springfield and the Worcester Telegraph report that Judge Peter Velis said Elliott and Findlay deserved prison for exposing fellow firefighters to life-threatening danger.

Lawyers said the hardest thing for both men was admitting to their firefighter fathers that they’d had a role in the arsons.

Two other firefighters have received probation in the case, and another is due for sentencing Nov. 29. Police said Elliott and Findlay were the ringleaders.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)