Man accused of setting former police station ablaze

BRIAR CREEK TOWNSHIP, COLUMBIA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Police arrested a man they say set fire to the former Briar Creek Township Police Station.

On February 8, first responders were called to a fire at the former Briar Creek Township Police Department building on Red Rock Road. According to a state police fire marshal, the blaze was intentionally started.

As police surveyed the area on the night of the fire, an officer said they encountered 30-year-old Brandon Gumpy from Berwick walking in the middle of Lake Road near the old police station.

The officer states he asked Gumpy why he was walking around the middle of Lake Road, and Gumpy explained that he was walking home from the Giant in Berwick when he saw the fire and called 911.

Investigators say there was no way Gumpy could have walked from the Giant to Lake Road in the time he claimed to have done it. Police said they searched Gumpy’s backpack and found a lighter, cigarettes, a laptop, and a bottle of tea.

Over the next two months, police continued to investigate the fire and learned Gumpy’s story was inconsistent. Further investigation led them to learn that Gumpy had been telling multiple people he lit the building on fire to prove a point to his ex-girlfriend.

On April 9, law enforcement said they received surveillance video that contained Gumpy allegedly admitting to lighting the old police station on fire along with four other supposed buildings.

Gumpy has been charged with two counts of arson, two counts of reckless burning or exploding property having a value exceeding $5,000, one count of risking catastrophe, and one count of criminal mischief.

Gumpy’s bail is set to $150,000. His next court date is April 29.

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