Scott R. Robertson, 49, is being held without bail after a fire in his room at the Knights Inn in South Greensburg. Court documents cited by PennLive list charges including arson, aggravated arson, reckless burning, risking catastrophe, reckless endangerment and dangerous burning. The charges are allegations, not findings of guilt.
Pennsylvania State Police went to the motel early Oct. 31 after callers reported a man setting fire to his room and knocking on other guests’ doors. Troopers found Robertson outside the burning room, shirtless and shoeless, PennLive reported. A witness told investigators they saw flames through the open doorway, heard Robertson say, “It’s a trend, everyone is doing it,” and used an extinguisher to put out the fire, according to WPXI. The reports do not establish a connection between this fire and earlier incidents at the property.
What the charges mean
The listed counts cover different alleged conduct. Under Pennsylvania law, intentionally starting a fire that puts another person’s property worth more than $5,000 at risk of damage can constitute third-degree felony reckless burning. Dangerous burning is a separate summary offense when a person intentionally or recklessly starts a fire to endanger a person or property, whether or not damage results, according to Title 18, Section 3301. Recklessly creating a risk of catastrophe through fire is separately classified as a third-degree felony under Section 3302.
Pennsylvania’s State Fire Marshal Law directs designated assistants to inquire into the origin, cause and circumstances of fires that damage or endanger property or life, according to the law. That authority describes the state’s investigative role; it does not establish which investigators, if any, examined the current fire.
Earlier fires at the motel
Two incidents reported in December 2022 offer property-specific history, but not evidence of a broader pattern or a shared cause. In one, police accused 47-year-old Matthew Nicholes of setting fire to a motel room; he later admitted starting the fire and turned himself in, WTAE reported. No one was hurt in that incident, and the outlet reported that Nicholes was not facing charges related to a separate earlier fire at the property.
A separate blaze on Dec. 29 damaged several rooms and caused no reported injuries; a cat was rescued from one of them, according to TribLIVE. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that a state police fire marshal determined that fire began just inside room 303’s entrance and investigators detected flammable liquid nearby. Those reported findings concern the 2022 fire, not Robertson’s case.
The Pennsylvania Fire and Panic Act includes hotels among the buildings it covers and authorizes the Department of Labor and Industry to issue regulations implementing the law, according to the department. That general authority does not establish the motel’s inspection history, compliance or the cause of the current fire.
