By Craig Fox
Watertown Daily Times
WATERTOWN, N.Y. — Police have charged the Watertown woman who allegedly started a fire in her kitchen sink to keep warm with two counts of reckless endangerment.
Kathy L. Rapholtz, 55, of 934 Academy St., Apt. 1, is accused of causing serious risk to another tenant, Lawrence Bradford, when she purposely ignited a fire in her sink with a piece of furniture by using olive oil as an accelerant, police said.
She started the fire to keep warm, a city fire department official said Monday night.
She also turned off several smoke detectors, including two in a common hallway, before starting the fire, police said.
City firefighters were summoned to the scene shortly before 8 p.m. after an upstairs tenant in another apartment smelled smoke and called 911. Two other people were at home at the time. No one was injured. Two other apartments were unoccupied.
The fire was contained to the sink and the house didn’t sustain any damage, Battalion Chief Tucker Wiley said.
The four-unit house was condemned and the other tenants had to find somewhere else to stay. The house is owned by landlord Alan Russo, who lives in Florida.
Shawn R. McWayne, the city’s code enforcement officer, is looking at whether the apartment building had any code violations that did not pertain to the fire.
Ms. Rapholtz was given an appearance ticket for Feb. 8 in Watertown City Court.
Copyright 2017 Watertown Daily Times