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Authorities arrested a man for allegedly starting a fire in Newbold.
Just after 6 a.m. Friday, a plainclothes police officer reportedly noticed Christopher Smith pushing a window-unit air conditioner into a home on the 1700 block of Sigel Street. The law enforcement figure then said he observed the individual squirt liquid from a small container through an open window to light a fire.
Authorities contend that Smith left the scene in a black Chrysler 300 but returned a few minutes later with another bottle of liquid and used its contents to accelerate the flames. The incident led a 59-year-old man, a 47-year-old woman and a 3-year-old boy to jump from a second-floor rear window, with the adult male suffering a broken leg and several broken ribs. Authorities have not determined a motive and charged Smith, who had not posted his $1 million bail as of press time, with aggravated and simple assault, endangering the welfare of a child, recklessly endangering another person and attempted murder. He awaits an Aug. 13 preliminary hearing.
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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