Patterson

A Hollidaysburg man who allegedly told police his burning residence was “beautiful” has been charged with setting a Dec. 3 fire that destroyed the home.

Marion Dean Patterson IV, 37, was arraigned Dec. 27 by Magisterial District Judge Paula M. Aigner on a felony charge of arson in relation to the fire on the 1100 block of Fern Avenue, Hollidaysburg.

According to the complaint, officers were dispatched to the residence after a neighbor reported seeing flames in the home.

When officers arrived on scene, they could see flames in the sky but could not unlock the gate with the code on file, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Officers reportedly could hear loud music coming from the area of the Patterson home and proceeded to the home on foot.

While approaching the home, officers could see the residence was fully engulfed in flames and they found Patterson standing outside by his running car with all the doors open and music blaring, the report stated.

Patterson was described as wearing two bathrobes, a pair of golf shoes, a fingerless glove on one hand and holding a golf club in the other.

Patterson did provide the officers with the gate code so that firefighters could enter the property and extinguish the blaze, police noted in the report.

Police said Patterson appeared unconcerned about the fire, and after speaking with officers on scene, he is accused of making several “off the wall” comments and chuckling about the fire.

While walking with police away from the fire, Patterson said of the fire, “beautiful though, ain’t it?”

Police asked Patterson if he knew how the fire may have started, and despite stating he was unsure, he later told officers he believed it may have started in the kitchen, the complaint stated.

Patterson was transported to UPMC Altoona, and he submitted to a mental health commitment, court documents state.

While state police investigated the fire, officials discovered suspicious activity in the house, with police reporting that the power cord to the building’s fire alarm system was detached and the backup batteries were missing.

Police also found pieces of fabric and paper near the cooktop. The fire was deemed to have started in the kitchen, the police report stated.

Police were granted a search warrant to seize the clothing Patterson was wearing the night of the fire, and during an interview with Patterson at UPMC Altoona, he allegedly told officers he was having a “lucid dream” and said he sometimes sleepwalks.

Patterson said he went to bed about 8 p.m. and woke up about 9 p.m. to make food on the stove and told police he possibly could have left his golf clubs on the stove, according to court documents.

About two weeks after the fire, police executed a search warrant on the house to further inspect the kitchen area.

Found sticking out of the cooktop were metal rods with the same consistency of a golf club bag.

Officials also found that the gas line leading to the stovetop was detached. It appeared a brass coupler was used to connect the line to the cook top and the brass would not have held up to the fire, which police said could have intensified the fire, according to the report.

Police determined that the fire was intentionally set, stating the golf club bag was placed upside-down on the cook top, which is inconsistent to how about 20 other golf bags were stored in the home.

In addition, officers reported other irregularities within the residence, notably a bathtub full of water and water damage to the basement not attributable to fire suppression efforts.

According to court documents, the Hollidaysburg Borough Water Authority notified police that water was shut off to the residence on the night of the fire because water consumption at the residence had increased dramatically prior to and during the fire to approximately 1,000 gallons per hour.

Patterson was known by police from a previous encounter after he was accused of using the cooktop to set a garage push broom on fire. In addition, police reported previous encounters with “Patterson intentionally flooding his residence, destroying furniture and other intentional acts involving damage to his property,” court documents state.

Patterson was denied bail and is confined at Blair County Prison.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled Jan. 12 before Aigner.

Police reported that 11 fire companies and about 75 firefighters battled the Dec. 3 blaze.