Greensburg woman accused of setting fire to own home after argument

A Greensburg woman was arrested after police said she set a fire at her home Sunday following a domestic dispute, according to court papers.

Georgia Zowacki, 59, was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison on $15,000 bail.

Police and firefighters were called to her Adams Street home around 8:15 p.m. Zowacki told investigators that she couldn’t find her phone so she used a lighter to look for it, but accidentally caught the kitchen curtains on fire, according to court papers.

A man who lives there told police he and Zowacki had an argument earlier in the evening. He videotaped the argument, during which Zowacki threatened to set the house on fire, according to court papers.

A city fire investigator determined that the fire was set in two spots — the kitchen curtains and a second set of curtains in an upstairs hallway, police said. The fire was started by an open flame.

Zowacki was not hurt. The man was not home at the time.

She is charged with arson, risking catastrophe and related offenses. She did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A Nov. 16 preliminary hearing is set.

Zowacki previously was sentenced to a jail term and probation after she cut a man and damaged items in a West Newton home. Police said in court papers that she turned violent in May 2019 after the man didn’t get her a birthday present, card or cake.