Former firefighter pleads guilty to arsons in Arnold, New Kensington

Marilyn Bischof said she still doesn’t understand why her grandson burned down her Arnold home last fall.

“I just want my grandson to know I am fine and I will get through this. I want him to get help, and I am glad he came forward and took the blame for this,” she testified Wednesday during a hearing in which her grandson pleaded guilty to the Oct. 1 arson of her Leishman Avenue home.

Andrew Bischof, 21, of Arnold, pleaded guilty to charges related to four intentionally set fires over two days last fall in Arnold and New Kensington.

A former member of the Arnold Volunteer Fire Department N0. 2, Bischof used combustible material to set the blazes and was seen near them, police said.

Authorities said Bischof had just days earlier joined the fire company and assisted in extinguishing two of the blazes.

He pleaded guilty to 12 felony counts including charges of arson, aggravated arson and criminal mischief in connection with the fire at his grandmother’s home. It was the last of the four blazes that were set and resulted one firefighter being injured when a back porch collapsed, according to court records.

Marilyn Bischof testified that she was not at home when the fire was set.

Assistant District Attorney Cassidy Hatten said the other three fires were set at two abandoned homes in Arnold and one in New Kensington. All four fires were located just over a half-mile apart and near Bischof’s home, according to prosecutors.

Under terms of the plea deal, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears sentenced Bischof to serve 6 to 12 years in prison and an additional 10-year probation term. He was also ordered to pay $223,700 to the company that insured his grandmother’s home.

“It’s a miracle no one passed away in this situation,” the judge said. “Unfortunately there are a lot of abandoned and old properties in the New Kensington and Arnold areas so these arsons could have done more damage than they thankfully did.

“Volunteer firefighters do incredibly difficult and thankless work. And to put them in danger is very serious and justifies the sentence you are receiving.”

Following his arrest last fall, Bischof was suspended as a fireman. Under terms of his sentence, he is prohibited from joining and working as a volunteer firefighter.

Bischof told the judge he suffers from mental health issues. He apologized to his grandmother and the injured firefighter.

“I don’t know what went wrong,” Bischof said. “It just kind of happened.”

Chris O’Leath, a spokesman for the Arnold Fire Department, said a department representative was not present in court to give an impact statement because of a miscommunication.

“I believe as a department, we’re satisfied with the punishment that he’s getting,” O’Leath said.

The department did its due diligence by running background checks on Bischof, but he slipped through the cracks, O’Leath said.

“He will never serve in another fire department again. Those felony charges will follow him no matter where he goes,” O’Leath said. “A background check will reveal those charges and prevent him from serving in another fire department anywhere.”