Woman being evicted from Garfield residence accused of setting it on fire
A woman who was being evicted from a residence in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood is accused of setting it on fire Wednesday.
Pittsburgh police arrested the 48-year-old woman, but her name was not immediately released. Charges are forthcoming, according to a Pittsburgh Public Safety news release.
The incident began around 11:40 a.m. when police were sent to the 5300 block of Mossfield Street in Garfield for a reported break-in.
According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, the property owner told officers that the woman, who was in the process of being evicted, had entered the residence to get her belongings. A state constable served the eviction notice and stayed there while she collected her items.
About an hour later, at 12:40 p.m., firefighters went to the same address after a passerby called 911 to report smoke coming from a second-story bedroom window.
As the constable entered the home, the woman fled in her vehicle, the public safety release Pittsburgh Public Safety said.
Firefighters extinguished the fire, which was under control by about 1:30 p.m. No one was hurt.
Fire investigators determined the woman being evicted had intentionally set the fire, Pittsburgh Public Safety said.
Police arrested the woman at East Liberty Boulevard and North Highland Avenue.
Brian C. Rittmeyer, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
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