Latest news with #ErieBureauofFire
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Erie police: Man admits to setting fire that damaged East Seventh Street apartment house
An Erie man who lives at an East Seventh Street apartment house admitted to investigators that he intentionally set a fire Thursday morning that caused significant damage to the house, according to Erie police. Investigators said John H. Mease, 63, made his admission when he went to the Erie police station and turned himself in on Thursday morning, less than an hour after the Erie Bureau of Fire was sent to 411 E. Seventh St. to put out a reported structure fire. Mease told a city police detective he intentionally set fire to clothing in the closet of his second-floor room because he wanted to destroy the house and go to jail, according to information in his criminal complaint. The fire was reported shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday. Erie firefighters who responded to the two-unit house found fire in the second floor, fire officials reported. The fire was confined to one room but spread slightly into the house's attic, according to city fire marshals. There were no injuries. The investigating city police detective wrote in the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint against Mease that Mease said he used a lighter to start a fire in the residence, where he has lived since July. Erie 3rd Ward District Judge Alison Scarpitti arraigned Mease Thursday evening on charges including felony counts of arson, reckless burning, risking a catastrophe and criminal mischief. Scarpitti set Mease's bond at $100,000. A lawyer for Mease was not listed on his criminal docket sheet Friday. East Erie blaze: Man and woman critically injured, 3 pets die in house fire at east Erie residence A Harborcreek Township man accused in an April 2024 fire on Poplar Street in which a truck was destroyed and two neighboring houses were damaged was held for court Friday morning on all charges in the Erie police case. Scarpitti held Ryan R. Mook, 43, for court on charges including arson and risking a catastrophe, as well as a first-degree felony count of causing a catastrophe that prosecutors added before the start of Mook's preliminary hearing Friday morning. Mook remains free on unsecured bond. Erie police accuse Mook of setting fire to a Chevrolet Silverado in the 400 block of Poplar Street on the morning of April 26, 2024. The fire caused damage to two nearby houses, authorities reported. Erie police initially charged Mook in the fire in November, but prosecutors withdrew the dharges in early February after a witness failed to attend a scheduled hearing. The charges were refiled in early March. Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@ Follow him on X @ETNhahn. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Man charged after Erie police said he admits to setting house fire
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
American Red Cross to give out free smoke alarms. Why they're targeting a part of Erie
An agency dedicated to assisting victims of disasters is rounding up Erie residents and volunteers for a program early next month to get smoke alarms into city homes in need. Members of the American Red Cross Northwestern Pennsylvania Chapter and others will spend the afternoon on April 4 installing free smoke alarms in the homes of Erie residents who live in the 16503 zip code area, which the Red Cross said is the area with the highest rate of Red Cross fire responses in northwestern Pennsylvania. Groups will spend roughly 20 minutes at each home, installing alarms and sharing information on the causes of home fires, how to prevent them, what to do if a fire starts and how to create an escape plan, according to the Red Cross. Erie Bureau of Fire officials said they will also have a presence during the April 4 event. Those interested in participating in the event are encouraged to sign up for an appointment for a free smoke alarm installation by calling 814-240-7667. Those interested in volunteering are asked to visit Please enable Javascript to view this content. The program is part of the national Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, which the Red Cross said has helped to save at least 2,284 lives since launching in October 2014. The area of Erie targeted for the April 4 initiative covers a portion of the city's east side roughly between State Street and Downing Avenue, from East Sixth to East 26th streets. Some notable fires have occurred in that area in recent years, including a June 2024 fire in the 400 block of East 10th Street that destroyed three homes and heavily damaged a fourth. The Red Cross said it assisted four families, consisting of nine adults and 16 children, following the fires. The Red Cross states that working smoke alarms cut the risk of death by 50%. A spokeswoman for the agency noted in an email that, as of mid-March, more people have died in home fires in Pennsylvania in 2025 than in any other U.S. State. According to information on the U.S. Fire Administration's website, there have been 53 civilian fatalities in fires in the state so far this year. The agency gathers the information through daily internet searches of U.S. media reports, according to information on the website. Four of the fatalities occurred locally in Millcreek Township. Robert Powell, 67, died in a Jan. 23 fire at his mobile home at 1270 Patlin Court; Jerome Wilson, 75, died in a Feb. 9 fire at his residence at 521 Zephyr Ave.; and Collin Pennell, 20, and Stephon Burdette, 19, died in a March 9 fire at a mobile home at 2730 Ganzer Lane. The causes of the fires on Patlin Court and Zephyr Avenue have been ruled as undetermined, according to Millcreek Township police. The Ganzer Lane fire remains under investigation. The April 4 event is the latest effort in the Erie region to get smoke alarms in homes that don't have them. The Erie Bureau of Fire has given away thousands of smoke detectors over the past decade that it secured through federal grants and donations. It most recently distributed 3,400 combination smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that it received in 2021 through a federal grant and local match. Don Sauer, the city fire bureau's chief fire inspector, said the bureau has run out of detectors but is looking into applying for a grant to obtain more. In Greene Township, the Kuhl Hose Co. is continuing to distribute smoke detectors purchased through a portion of the township's American Rescue Plan funding. The department has distributed over 3,000 of the 3,600 detectors purchased, Chief Don Erbin Jr. said. Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@ Follow him on X @ETNhahn. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Free smoke alarms will be given away by American Red Cross
