Man gets 4 to 8 years in prison for $2M fire

5 buildings damaged in Homestead arson

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Edward McDonald told a judge on Thursday that he didn’t mean to set a fire that burned down a block of Homestead last year.

He didn’t mean for anyone to be hurt, or lose their property, or their pet. He insisted it was an accident — and could have happened even if he had been taking his prescription medication.

McDonald, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, pleaded no contest in June to arson charges for the Jan. 23, 2015, fire that burned five buildings and caused $2 million in damage along East Eighth Avenue.

On Thursday, he stood before Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani and was sentenced to four to eight years in prison for the sixalarm fire that began in his apartment at 237 E. Eighth Ave.

“I did nothing to intentionally harm them or cause damage to the property,” McDonald said. “I wasn’t on my medication, but even if I was, it still could have happened. It was an accident.”

McDonald said he was trying to fill a lighter and spilled lighter fluid on the couch.