FRENCHCREEK TWP., Pa. (EYT) – Felony arson and related charges have been filed against a Franklin woman who allegedly confessed to intentionally causing a structure fire in Frenchcreek Township in late May.
Court documents indicate 59-year-old Jacqueline Alexis Egger, of Franklin, was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Matthew T. Kirtland at 10:15 a.m. on October 5, on the following charges:
– Arson-Danger Of Death Or Bodily Injury, Felony 1
– Arson-Intent Destroy Unoccupied Building, Felony 2
– Reckless Burning or Exploding – places uninhabited or unoccupied structure in danger of damage, Felony 3
– Criminal Mischief/Damage Property Intentional, Reckless, Or Negligent Dangerous Burning, Felony 3
She remains free on $15,000.00 unsecured bail.
The charges stem from a fire that destroyed a structure in Frenchcreek Township on May 31.
According to a criminal complaint, around 7:00 a.m. on June 1, Trooper Cross, who is assigned to the Fire Marshal Unit for Troop E of the Pennsylvania State Police, received a phone message from the Chief Tom Sherman of the Polk Borough Volunteer Fire Department.
According to the complaint, Chief Sherman reported his department responded to a structure fire at 246 Stone Road in Frenchcreek Township on May 31, around 10:17 p.m.
Chief Sherman noted the front side of the structure was fully engulfed in flames, with smoking pushing out of the upstairs windows, when he arrived at the scene. He also reported the structure was unoccupied and had no functioning utilities.
The complaint notes Chief Sherman told the investigator a small burned chair was discovered in the grass behind a parked RV near the structure. A red glove with soot on the palm was also found in the driveway.
Trooper Cross then began an investigation into the origin and cause of the fire around 9;14 a.m on June 1.
During his investigation, Trooper Cross was shown where the chair and glove were discovered, and he noted the absence of any ash or burned or decayed grass under the chair, which the complaint states the chair was put there after it had burned at another location.
Trooper Cross then interviewed Jacqueline Egger.
According to the complaint, Egger reported that on the evening of May 31, she was burning a small child’s chair in a burn pit behind her residence. She indicated she believed an ember from the fire blew to the 246 Stone Road property and caused the fire.
When Trooper Cross told Egger a small burned chair that resembles a child’s chair was found near the burned structure, Egger reportedly claimed to have no knowledge of the chair or how it got there.
The complaint indicates the possibility of a spark or ember causing the structure to burn was considered, but in this case, it would have been necessary for a spark or ember to travel from the burning fuel (the wooden chair) to the structure, which was approximately 192 feet away, and raise the temperature of a solid fuel there to its ignition temperature.
“Given the rapid heat loss of a spark or ember over the distance of 192 feet, it would not be possible for a spark to maintain the necessary heat flux to change a solid to a gaseous vapor necessary for combustion,” the complaint states.
Based on the scene examination and the information available, Trooper Cross was of the opinion that the fire was an intentional act of arson.
Egger was then interviewed again on September 29.
According to the complaint, during the interview, multiple inconsistencies were discovered in Egger’s statements regarding to the fire, and once the inconsistencies were brought to her attention, Egger reportedly confessed to intentionally starting the structure fire.
The complaint states Egger told police she was “tired of looking at the dilapidated conditions” of the property, which had previously belonged to a family member.
The complaint indicates she reported that she took a handful of embers from her fire pit and placed them between a screen door and the main entrance door of the structure and then walked away.
A preliminary hearing for the case is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on October 20, with Judge Kirtland presiding.
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