Ex-Ligonier Township man admits setting fire to his own home

Robert Forgie acknowledged he endangered himself, police and firefighters two years ago when he set his new Ligonier Township home ablaze.

“I’m sorry for what happened. I know I caused a lot of trouble,” said Forgie, 69, just after he pleaded guilty on Thursday to a lesser charge of risking a catastrophe in connection with the Aug. 17, 2018, fire that tore through the Cool Spring Lane home he and his wife had purchased four months earlier.

According to court records, Ligonier Township police Officer James Friscarella dragged Forgie from the house as the fire burned. Police said witnesses claimed they saw Forgie pour gasoline on the house and later Forgie admitted to investigators that he set fire to the structure. Police said Forgie claimed he started the blaze because he “wanted a new house.”

No one was injured in the fire, authorities said. Fire officials said the home was extensively damaged.

Westmoreland County Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio sentenced Forgie to serve 6 to 23 months in jail and two years of probation. He was given credit for the nearly seven months he served in jail following his arrest and was paroled on Thursday.

As part of the plea bargain, prosecutors dismissed one felony count of arson.

Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar said Forgie, a U.S. military veteran who now lives near Turtle Creek in Allegheny County, has been in alcohol abuse treatment since his arrest, and the Ligonier police officer who rescued him from the fire signed off on the plea deal.