Coatesville revises '08 arson total to 26

The scope of Coatesville's arson plague is greater by one-third than previously thought.

The city announced yesterday that 26 fires were set last year in the onetime steel town - not the 15 that officials had been reporting.

Added to the 18 arsons reported in the Chester County city this year, the total comes to 44.

City spokeswoman Kristin Geiger the error in the 2008 number was due to different reporting mechanisms for county, city, and state agencies. The revised number was issued in response to repeated requests from The Inquirer for 2008 data.

The scourge of intentional blazes, which began in February 2008, has intensified this year, despite the arrest of three alleged arsonists, all of whom remain in custody. Property damage so far for 2009 is estimated at $3.5 million and dozens of people have been left homeless, Geiger said.

All but one of the residents whose homes were targeted escaped. On Dec. 7, Irene Kempest, an 83-year-old World War II German work-camp survivor, was killed when flames engulfed her house on Strode Avenue.

Five arsons also have been reported this year in neighboring municipalities: one each in East Fallowfield Township, Sadsbury Township, and the Borough of Modena, and two in Valley Township.

John Hageman, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and for the Coatesville Arson Task Force, said the fires set outside the city limits shared some traits with the Coatesville blazes, but he declined to link them.

The task force was formed two weeks ago at Gov. Rendell's urging to provide Coatesville with additional manpower and resources. The group includes representatives of federal, state, county, and local agencies.

Rendell also has pledged $500,000, half to assist the arson victims and half to help the city defray police and fire costs. City Manager Harry G. Walker III said Coatesville had spent $100,000 on police and fire overtime in the last month.

On Monday, Walker asked the City Council to release $900,000 from the city trust fund to meet expenses. A public hearing on that request is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday in City Hall.

Hageman said "15 unsolved arsons from 2008" were being investigated by the task force, along with the 23 deliberate blazes in and around Coatesville this year.

The three alleged arsonists arrested in December were linked to four 2008 arsons in court records; however, the criminal complaints indicated that the investigations were continuing and more charges were likely.