East Germantown Fire Destroys 1 Home, Damages 2 Others

Woman allegedly told cab to wait while she lit fires

An overnight fire in the East Germantown section of Philadelphia destroyed one home and heavily damaged two others.

The fires were investigated Thursday and declared as a case of arson. Arrested was 32-year-old Monique Riley from the 4500 block of N 19th Street, police confirmed.

Riley allegedly threw a can of gasoline onto the porch of a home on the 2100 block of Furley Street, investigators said. It took nearly 30 minutes for firefighters to get the fire under control.

Allegedly Riley took a cab to the scene of the crime and told the cabbie to wait. When she returned to the taxi she seemed nervous and was complaining of burns, the driver told police.

Witnesses of the fire said everything happened very quickly.

"It was real big in the house that it started and then it started traveling down the rooftops,"  said Elizabeth Butler.

Luckily no one was injured in the fire.

Riley faces arson, aggravated assault and related charges.

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