Maria N. Frye, 30, and Daniel M. Sipes Jr., 26, were arraigned Wednesday by Magisterial District Judge Benjamin F. Jones on a combined 65 felony charges. The two are accused of setting the Oct. 14 house fire on the 2000 block of Fifth Avenue.

According to the complaint, a patrolman from the Altoona Police Department was conducting a routine patrol when he discovered the back porch of the Fifth Avenue residence on fire.

Police said the entire rear wall of the porch was on fire, and the officer helped evacuate six people who were inside.

The police report states that the fire had started to spread into the kitchen while police were evacuating residents from the building. It took Altoona Fire Department firefighters more than an hour to extinguish. One firefighter was injured while working to extinguish the flames, according to reports.

Frye

First responders told police that had it not been for the swift efforts from the patrolman, the residents would have been trapped and likely killed.

A victim who was inside the residence at the time of the blaze told police that she and Sipes were in an argument before the fire. The victim called Sipes “crazy” and said he threatened to burn her house down in the past, police said.

After collecting material from the back porch area, the Altoona Fire Department determined the fire was intentionally set.

Court documents state that Sipes was staying at the residence about a month before the incident, and other people in the house accused him of dealing drugs and fleeing the residence following a drug bust.

In an interview with another victim, Sipes was accused of “burning the house down” and claimed that he had a history of burning other people’s houses and garages down, court documents state.

Police said they were given screenshots of text messages that a victim received from an unknown suspect that states “Danny plans on coming back to burn your house down” and “Go dig in your brunt (sic) house with flash lights.”

According to court documents, another victim told police that Sipes was driving around the residence on the night of the fire and accused Sipes of lighting the fire, adding that Sipes told him earlier in the morning that if the victim went back around Frye, who was Sipes’ girlfriend, Sipes was going to “burn down every person’s house that he loves.”

During the investigation, police discovered that Sipes had eight outstanding warrants for his arrest. In an Oct. 22 operation with the Blair County Drug Task Force, Sipes was taken into custody after a brief pursuit and foot chase, according to police.

Police said in monitored conversations between Frye and an incarcerated Sipes, Frye allegedly mentioned “taking the fall” for the incident.

In a recorded conversation with a family member, Sipes said that “people are going to say some shit about me. It’s probably all true,” court documents state.

Court documents state that a warrant was served on Frye’s residence on Fifth Avenue to obtain Sipes’ cell phone, and during the search, police discovered Frye hiding in a closet upstairs and in possession of meth.

Frye detailed to police the events prior to the fire, explaining that an argument took place between Sipes and the residents of the house.

According to Frye, Sipes retrieved a black bag from the trunk of a vehicle and walked over to the house on the 2000 block of Fifth Avenue.

Sipes was gone for 5 to 10 seconds, Frye told police, and when he returned, Sipes allegedly “looked like he was fleeing, fast” and “needed to get out of there.”

Frye told police that friends had begun sending messages stating “free Danny the arsonist,” and over the next several days, Sipes began playing into the banter, even writing on the wall outside her bedroom, “I’ll burn your house down with your kids in it, love Danny.”

In her testimony to police, Frye said that Sipes began admitting to the fact he lit the building ablaze, stating that it “empowered him more” and made others fear him.

According to a witness, Sipes was allegedly spotted carrying a black bag with a type of liquid inside of it, and the witness said the smell of gasoline was emitting from him when he returned.

Throughout the investigation, police said Sipes had mentioned or referenced the investigation in nearly every prison-monitored conversation, with police concluding that he “gets excitement and gratitude out of committing crime and even getting arrested for it.”

The property was a complete loss, police noted, with total damages being estimated at $60,000. In addition, the fire placed the six occupants, including at least one child, in danger of serious injury or death, as well as the emergency responders, including the firefighter who was injured.

Frye and Sipes face a combined 65 felony charges, including counts of arson, criminal attempt of criminal homicide, conspiracy of criminal homicide, conspiracy of aggravated arson, aggravated attempts to cause serious bodily injury with extreme indifference, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a victim less than 13 years old and a defendant older than 18, terroristic threats, risking catastrophe, causing catastrophe and numerous other charges.

The pair, who were remanded to Blair County Prison, were denied bail due to having substantial community risk and other pending felony charges.

Preliminary hearings for the charges are scheduled Feb. 9 before Jones.