PITTSBURGH — Cell phone video taken by a neighbor on February 6th shows flames shooting from the roof of a house on Bajo Street in Arlington that sits just off of Becks Run Road. Investigators say Jon Berts, the property owner, intentionally set the fire.
Firefighters and police were called to the house around 10 p.m. Crews said that when they first walked in, they immediately smelled an odor of gasoline. A K9 arson dog led investigators to collect five samples from the scene that all tested positive for ignitable liquids.
Police later obtained surveillance footage from a car wash across the street. They say around the time of the fire, the video shows Berts in and out of the house, then getting into his car. He was also seen at the GetGo gas station on East Carson Street filling up a red gas can. Surveillance video shows him returning to the house followed by flashes of light coming through the third-floor windows.
Neighbors told us they’re glad police figured out who set the fire.
“There’s only a couple of houses here, but to put us at risk, in danger, you know, our houses are old, they could have went up like that. I have a 9-year-old autistic son. That would have been terrible,” said Kary Kalinowski. “I didn’t know if anyone was in the house because it never appeared that anyone moved in.”
Damage to the property was estimated to be around $100,000.
Berts faces multiple charges, including arson and insurance fraud.
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