Teenage firefighter charged with arson; mother says he was pressured to confess

BRACKENRIDGE, Pa. — An 18-year-old volunteer firefighter has been charged with arson in an intense fire that destroyed a home Monday in Brackenridge, officials said.

PHOTOS: Smoke visible for miles from house fire

The fire was at a duplex on East 7th Avenue. Flames shot from the second floor and heavy smoke could be seen from miles away.

Patrick Gillis, a firefighter with the Pioneer Hose Fire Company and a senior at Highlands High School, was arrested, according to a criminal complaint. He was previously a junior firefighter with Highland Hose Fire Company.

When asked by investigators why he started the blaze, he said he just wanted to respond to a fire, the complaint said.

Authorities said Gillis started the fire at the home -- where he and his mother once lived -- and then left, only to return with fellow firefighters.

However, Patrick Gillis’ mother, Dana Gillis, doesn’t believe her son is responsible. She said she thinks he admitted to starting the fire because he was being pressured during police interviews.

“I’m a mother. You’re supposed to believe your children. What mother, what parent wouldn’t believe in their own children?” Dana Gillis said. “There was a window open, and I can’t see my son fitting through that window because he’s a big boy.”

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Investigators determined the fire started in a microwave in the kitchen. They said Patrick Gillis used paper and lighter to ignite it. The Pioneer Hose fire chief told police Gillis' name had been brought up over recent area nuisance fires.

A witness told investigators he thought Gillis was burning garbage, according to the complaint. He soon saw flames shooting from the house and spotted Gillis returning to fight the fire.

There were some challenges getting the fire under control.

“We think the place had two roofs, so that makes it horrible,” Brackenridge Fire Department Chief Rick Jones said. “That's why we think we chased it around. It's a total loss and it's about to be torn down.”

Firefighters said no one was in the duplex at the time.

The duplex is owned by River Stone Lofts and Apartments and was for sale.

Cox Media Group