Former Pittsburgh-area volunteer firefighter accused of arson gets 6-12 years after pleading guilty

GREENSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) -- A former Arnold volunteer firefighter was sentenced to at least six years in prison after pleading guilty to arson charges, prosecutors announced.

Former Arnold Volunteer Engine Co. #2 firefighter Andrew Bischof admitted to intentionally setting four fires in Arnold and New Kensington last fall while h, the Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office said.

Prosecutors told the judge that Bischof put his fellow firefighters in harm's way and jeopardized the safety of the community he vowed to protect. He pleaded guilty to charges including aggravated arson and risking catastrophe and was sentenced to six to 12 years at a state correctional institute followed by eight consecutive years of supervision, the district attorney's office said.

The fires started in the morning at an abandoned building on Fourth Avenue and ended the next night on Leishman Avenue, authorities said. They all took place less than a half-mile away from one another.

According to court records, the last fire was at a home belonging to Bischof's family, and surveillance video showed him leaving the scene and returning with the station. The Arnold fire chief said two firefighters were involved in a deck collapse there, and EMS crews took one to the hospital for evaluation.

Bischof joined the department just five days before the first building went up in flames. Before that, he was a member of the former Citizens Volunteer Fire Company before he joined the United States Navy, from which he was honorably discharged.