‘We Finally Got Them:’ New Castle, ATF Break Arson Cases

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Six young adults and two juveniles were taken into custody Tuesday in New Castle, a city that has seen dozens of confirmed arsons in vacant structures since early 2008.

“We got ‘em. That’s just — we finally got them,” Fire Chief Thomas Maciarello said during a news conference at the New Castle municipal building.Suspects were identified as:

• Ruben James Suarez, 23, accused in connection with fires at nine properties
• Steven Sheridan, 22, accused in connection with fires at seven properties
• Mark A. Quear, 20, accused in connection with fires at five properties
• Stephen Threats, 20, accused in connection with fires at four properties
• Rachelle Marie Lombardo, 24, accused in connection with fires at four properties (in custody at county jail)
• Darrell Rice Jr., 20
• A male juvenile, accused in connection with one fire
• A male juvenile, accused in connection with one fire

New Castle has had a total of more than 100 fires in vacant structures since early 2008, including 34 since mid-2007 in the city’s lower east side alone.”A big break came when a resident called us one evening that she heard glass breaking in on one of the lower east side neighborhoods,” police Chief Thomas Sansone said.The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives became involved in the investigation about six weeks ago and played a role with New Castle authorities in breaking the case.

“They partnered very well with New Castle police, teamed up with their lead detective and conducted scores of interviews, analyzed the evidence and were integral in helping to obtain confessions from some of these folks,” said Jim Tanda, supervisor of the ATF’s Pittsburgh office.While no serious injuries were ever reported, the city has been forced to pay overtime to firefighters and spend money to demolish some of the damaged buildings.”You know, you have one or two arsonists, but to have eight, it really taxes the police department, the fire department, the ATF helping us,” Sansone said.Police don’t have a motive, though they said copper pipes were removed from buildings in some cases. Sansone said the suspects all knew each other but worked in groups of two or three.New Castle officials have established an arson tip line. Anyone with information about any fires is asked to call 724-656-3067.”Hopefully, we can rest a little easier now, but our job isn’t completed. Just as I said, what we need is the public’s help,” Sansone said.

Story by thepittsburghchannel.com

‘Suspicious’ Pitcairn Fire Damages 3 Houses On Second Street

PITCAIRN, Pa. — Allegheny County officials reported a fire in Pitcairn damaged three houses early Monday morning.No injuries have been reported but a number of people were evacuated from the homes in the 300 block of Second Street.

The fire was reported around 2:20 a.m. It took more than two hours and seven fire departments to get the flames in the two houses and one apartment building under control. According to fire investigators the fire started in the middle building and then spread to either side.The Pitcairn fire chief said they are treating the fire as suspicious.Red Cross officials said they are assisting 10 adults and five children with food, clothing and housing.Traffic Watch 4’s Scott Stiller reported that Wall Avenue is closed this morning between Route 130 and Third Street due to the fire activity.

Story and more on WTAE’s website.

Police: Hill District Playground Torched By Arsonist

Story by WTAE

PITTSBURGH — Arson is suspected in a fire that burned a playground in Pittsburgh’s Hill District neighborhood.

The fire at Cliffside Park started Wednesday afternoon in the 1700 block of Cliff Street, overlooking Bigelow Boulevard.One of WTAE Channel 4’s Action Cams showed thick, black smoke rising from the heavily tree-lined area.Police at the city’s Zone 2 station said the playground was intentionally set on fire.Play equipment and stick-pads that the equipment sits on were burned.

The flames were so intense at one point that a tree caught fire 10 to 12 feet away, police said.One piece of equipment was badly damaged during the fire, and the people who use the park said they’re angry someone would do something like this to local children.”I was so mad because when my little cousins would come over, we’d go down to the park and play on the slides and the monkey bars. And sometimes they would play basketball,” said Marva Kennedy.No injuries were reported, and no arrests have been made.An estimate of the damage was not immediately available, but police said it will likely carry a large dollar figure.

Fire Rescue Headlines: Barn Fire, House Fire, Mock Disaster, Physical Rescue

Here are your firefighting and rescue headlines for Western Pennsylvania, for Thursday, August 27th.

• There was a two alarm house fire in Kennedy Twp this morning on Sunset Drive. [WPXI]

• The Allegheny County Fire Marshal is investigating a huge barn fire at the Montour Heights Country Club this morning in Moon Twp.  At this point, the fire does not appear to be suspicious. [KDKA]

• Pittsburgh International Airport held a mock disaster drill yesterday.  Per the FAA, a mock disaster drill must be completed at least once every three years. [Tribune-Review]

• Ten vehicles were damaged by fire at Taylor Auto Repair & Sales in the Overbrook section of Pittsburgh yesterday. [Tribune-Review]

• Also Tuesday into Wednesday, crews in Lincoln were called to assist with rescuing a male out of the woods in Dead Man’s Hollow.  A firefighter suffered a leg injury due to a chainsaw during the rescue.  The firefighter is home resting after receiving treatment at a local hospital. [WTAE]

Fire Rescue Headlines: Hopewell Fire, School Fire, Fatal Cycle MVA, Fawn #2 News

Here are the western Pa firefighting and rescue headlines for Tuesday, August 25th, 2009.

• Shortly before 3am crews were called to Ridge Avenue in Hopewell for a fully involved structure fire.  A family escaped the fire and no injuries were reported.  The state fire marshal is investigating the cause. [WTAE]

• In Chartiers Twp, a man repairing a silo had an apparent heart ache and died. [WTAE]

• Firefighters in Brookline had to extinguish a suspicious fire at the Pioneer Education Center last evening. Pittsburgh public schools go back in session next week. [WPXI]

• Yet another area fatal motorcycle accident in Springhill, Fayette county yesterday. [Tribune-Review]

• And finally, Fawn #2 fire department received animal oxygen masks from Invisible Fence.  The article also discussed their new brush truck that was recently put into service. [Valley News Dispatch]

Fire Rescue Headlines: Arson, Mountain Bike Accident, Army Bus MVA

Here are your Western PA firefighting and rescue headlines for Monday, August 24th, 2009.

• An army bus being driven to New Castle for repairs crashed into a truck carrying a crane on Route 422 in Slippery Rock Twp this morning.  The driver of the bus and a lone passenger were transported for non life threatening injuries.  The crane truck driver was uninjured. [WPXI]

• A man from Maine died in a mountain biking accident yesterday in Brighton Twp, Beaver county. [WPXI]

• Yet another suspicious fire in New Castle.  This time, the house that was picked was one that was already set on fire earlier this month. [WPXI]

• And finally, a woman was arrested for torching a house in Commodore, Indiana county after having a fight with her boyfriend. [WPXI]

Fire Rescue Headlines: Suspicious Fires, Fatal Motorcycle Accidents

Here is a look at your western PA firefighting and rescue headlines for Monday, August 17th, 2009.

• Yet another suspicious vacant house fire in New Castle last night. [WTAE]

• A transformer blew at an Allegheny Power substation causing a small fire and knocking out power in German Twp, Fayette county. [WTAE]

• In Saltlick Twp, a women died in a fire that was started by an explosion in a house. A male did escape the blaze. [WPXI]

• A woman died in Indiana Twp after crashing on her motorcycle. [Tribune-Review]

• A man died in Henry Clay Twp after crasshing on his motorcycle. [Tribune-Review]

Fire Scene Photography – Interview w/ Allegheny County Deputy Fire Marshal Michael Shawley

There are no written guidelines that I know of out there regarding fire scene photos in relation to  fire investigations, and as a photo-journalist I’ve often wondered what is off-limits and what would be beneficial for investigation purposes.  I recently had the opportunity to meet up with Michael Shawley, who is a Deputy Fire Marshal for Allegheny County, PA, who unfortunately has been extremely busy in my area of the county investigating suspicious fires.  Mike was gracious enough to tell Hoopie World some information about himself and answer some questions regarding picture taking on fire scenes.

Hopefully the information he provides helps those of us out there shooting incidents and hopefully we can learn to take better pictures that can help in aiding with fire investigations.

Read more

Suspicious Fire in Elizabeth Borough – Update 8/11/2009

Update 8/11/09 – Per Elizabeth VFC’s website, the Fire Marshal deemed this fire as accidental, and confirmed that nothing was thrown onto the porch.

Early on Wednesday morning, August 5th,  Allegheny County 911 received a call from a homeowner stating someone threw something onto their back porch and their house was on fire.

Elizabeth Borough Station 139 and their first alarm were alerted for the house on South 3rd Avenue, in the Walker Heights section of Elizabeth.  Initial crews on scene reported a working fire.  Crews stretched a 2 1/2″ handline to the rear of the structure and another crew advanced through the front door.  There was a nice knockdown and the initial crews did a great job of containment.

Read more

Upcoming Fire Scene Photography Article

Hi all, I just wanted to give a heads up for everyone to be on the lookout for an upcoming article we’ll be publishing about taking photos on a fire scene.

I have secured an interview with an Allegheny County Fire Marshal this week and will be going over the do’s and dont’s of taking pictures on scene regarding interfering with arson investigations and similar concerns.

If there are any specific questions that any of the visitors have, be sure to email me at support@hoopieworld.com and I will do my best to get them included in the article.

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