A Bradford man is in jail after he confessed to investigators that he started a fire Jan. 12 at 112 Barbour St. while he was out riding his bicycle.
“For some reason my soul lives on fire, I guess,” Robert A. Williams explained to the interviewers. Williams also said he just wanted to see fire and believed the house was abandoned, according to the criminal complaint.
Williams, 22, of 41 ½ Pearl St., was arraigned Monday night before District Judge Dominic Cercone on the following charges: burglary, a first-degree felony; arson-intent to destroy unoccupied building and arson-recklessly placing building in danger, second-degree felonies; possession of explosive/incendiary material, criminal mischief and risking catastrophe, third-degree felonies; and recklessly endangering another person, a second-degree misdemeanor.
State police had reported at the time of the fire that two people and several pets were displaced due to the fire. No one was hurt.
The criminal complaint states that at 4:06 p.m. Jan. 12, officers were dispatched to a report of a residential fire, and a responding officer arrived to find the home to be “fully involved.” the officer reported “the first floor was involved with flames extending out of the East and South sides of the structure” — dangerously close to Oxley’s Service on Barbour Street.
The officer made sure Oxley’s was evacuated due to the potential that the fire could spread there, court records stated.
Investigators from the city fire department and state police determined the fire to be arson.
During an interview about a recent incident, Williams confessed to investigators with the Bradford City police and fire departments that he started the blaze at 112 Barbour, according to the complaint.
Williams told investigators he entered the house through the front door because he believed it was abandoned. “Like I said, I’ve been known to mess with fire,” he said.
He lit a paper located under the couch with a “torch” — possibly a butane or propane torch, court records indicate. Once he started the fire under the couch, he left the home.
Williams said during the interview that he owes the tenants an apology, according to the complaint.
Williams, who is in McKean County Jail, was denied bail due to being considered a danger to the public, court records indicate. A preliminary hearing is set for March 24.
He is scheduled to appear in McKean County Court to be sentenced for a separate case. In that case, he pleaded guilty to a charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and a summary charge for allegations he broke into a private parking lot and drove one of the vehicles there without consent of the owner.
