4 girls ages 12 to 14 accused of setting house fire; group posted Snapchat video of starting blaze

by: Associated Press Posted: Apr 11, 2021 / 04:35 PM EDT / Updated: Apr 11, 2021 / 04:36 PM EDT FERNDALE, Pa. (AP) — Four girls ranging in age from 12 to 14 have been arrested on juvenile court charges of setting a fire that destroyed an unoccupied western Pennsylvania house earlier this month, sending a police officer and a firefighter to the hospital, authorities said. Police in the suburban Johnstown borough of Ferndale say a 12-year-old from Richland School District, two 14-year-olds from the Greater Johnstown School District and a 14-year-old from Ferndale Area School District face multiple charges of felony arson as well as causing catastrophe, trespassing and endangering another person. Chief John Blake said the girls are accused of starting the April 3 fire in a duplex using numerous aerosol sprays, including bug spray and Lysol. “They placed a shoebox on the couch and threw lit pieces of paper into the box that had been sprayed with accelerant,” Blake said. The girls became suspects after reportedly posting a Snapchat video showing themselves starting the fire, Blake said. Photographs surfaced of the girls when they returned to the scene a short time later to watch the fire, he…
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