WILKES-BARRE TOWNSHIP -- A firefighter in Luzerne County has been charged with arson, accused of setting a fire in the Wilkes-Barre area last month.
Police believe Richard Hart, 18, son of the Wilkes-Barre Township fire chief and a firefighter himself, is responsible for the fire.
Hart said nothing leaving his arraignment Friday afternoon at Wilkes-Barre Township police headquarters.
That fire happened in December on Casey Avenue near Wilkes-Barre, damaging two homes. Windows are boarded up, black soot stains much of the roof and yellow caution tape is strung around the property.
Fire investigators believe Hart started the fire early on the morning of December 21.
Newswatch 16 was there shortly after it ignited. The homeowner was away at the time and no one was hurt from the fire. The reason, police say, Hart decided to start the fire may seem strange.
According to court papers, Hart told investigators he was at McDonalds in Wilkes-Barre Township. He went to walk home, when he told investigators he saw a cat, and decided to chase after it. It led him into the backyard of the house. That's where he says he accidentally knocked over a gas can but then intentionally threw a cigar in it. A fire ignited, and he went home to sleep.
People tell Newswatch 16 they're shocked a fire chief's son would act so irresponsibly.
"Anybody walking by or anything like that could have got hurt. It could have caught fire to other houses and stuff," said Wilkes-Barre Township resident Aaron Newhart.
Hart is being held at the Luzerne County Prison.