Why LA Fitness in Bensalem was evacuated, and felony charges filed
A 54-year-old homeless man faces felony charges after he allegedly set fire to a Dumpster outside a Bensalem fitness club because he wanted to stay warm.
About 25 people were evacuated Monday evening from the LA Fitness in the 500 block of Rockhill Road after a manager discovered a burning smell inside the building was a fire in a container near the rear of the building, police said.
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Bensalem firefighters extinguished the blaze, which severely damaged the two-yard long Dumpster, according to a probable cause affidavit.
A Bensalem police officer spoke with Joseph John Ferguson who said that he told management that he started the fire and tried asking for a tour of the facility as they were evacuating people, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Ferguson also allegedly told the officer and a fire investigator he set the fire in an effort to stay warm and that he used his lighter to start the fire, the affidavit said.
Ferguson was arraigned on felony charges of arson and risking a catastrophe and related misdemeanor charges. He is incarcerated in Bucks County Corrections Center in lieu of 10% of $70,000 bail. He had no attorney listed on the docket.
Jo Ciavaglia is a reporter for the Bucks County Courier Times and Doylestown Intelligencer. She can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Man facing felony charges in Bensalem LA Fitness fire
