Penn student charged with dorm arson

Inquirer staff writer Sam Wood reports:

A University of Pennsylvania student has been charged with arson and other counts in a fire that forced the evacuation of a high rise dormitory early yesterday, police said.

Neil Gajare, 22, allegedly sprayed butane through a cigarette lighter flame about 2 a.m. yesterday, igniting a nearby bin of recycling material on the 22nd Floor of the Rodin College House.

Sprinklers extinguished the blaze but left extensive flooding that damaged four new elevators, according to Penn's newspaper, the Daily Pennsylvanian.

Gajare, a resident of the building, was additionally charged with criminal mischief, risking a catastrophe, possessing an instrument of crime, and reckless endangerment.

A spokesman for Penn said the university was referring all calls to the Philadelphia Police.

"We give out no information about students and disciplinary action at all," said spokesman Ron Ozio.

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