A woman who was upset with her boyfriend set fire to a pile of clothes in their east Reading rental home, investigators said.
The flames trapped the man, who fled to the roof, then jumped to the roof of the front porch, then down to the sloped front yard from there, investigators said.
Sabrina Tobias, 28, left the end-of-row home at 1716 Cotton St. through the front door along with another person after setting the fire to the rear of the second floor about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, police said.
Tobias’ boyfriend, whose name was not provided, was on the second floor when the fire was set. He was outside of the building before the first fire crew arrived, and wasn’t injured, officials said.
Tobias was later arrested on charges of arson, risking a catastrophe, reckless endangerment and related counts.
She was committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $15,000 bail to await a hearing after arraignment late Tuesday before District Judge Kyley L. Scott in Reading Central Court.
According to police:
The man told officers at the scene that his girlfriend, Tobias, started the fire. He said she had been talking about setting the house on fire for four months because the landlord was trying to evict them.
He further stated that Tobias told him on multiple occasions that she had “visions and dreams of setting the house on fire.”
Tobias initially told police that there were firecrackers going off in her backyard and shortly after she noticed heavy smoke and flames coming from the kitchen.
But a third resident, whose name was not provided, said she heard Tobias arguing with her boyfriend before Tobias set a pile of clothes on fire on the second floor.
Reading Fire Marshal Jeremy Searfoss said flames were shooting from the rear of the building on both the first and second floors.
“Our guys are extremely aggressive and were able to hold the fire to the house of origin,” he said.
Heat from the fire damaged the siding of the detached home at 1714 Cotton and there was some minor fire damage to the attached home at 1718, but occupants of both of those dwellings were able to return once the smoke cleared, Searfoss said.
