The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
PENN HILLS, Pa. — A Penn Hills woman set fire to a Lawrenceville row house she owns because she was locked out of the building and thought firefighters could open the front door, police said.
City police charged Lorean Simmons, 57, with three counts of reckless endangerment, two counts of arson and one count of risking a catastrophe. She was released on her own recognizance.
The complaint said Simmons lit an awning with a lighter about 4 p.m. Saturday in the 5200 block of Holmes Street.
Simmons told police she did it “so the fire department would respond and open my door. Once I started the fire, I did not want the house to burn all the way to the ground, so I called the fire department,” according to the criminal complaint.
Firefighters put out the fire before it spread to neighboring row houses.
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