Woman charged with arson after historic Pennsylvania home catches fire twice: officials
BERWYN, Pa. - In a shocking turn of events, officials have charged a Chester County woman with arson of her own home that has caught fire not once, but twice.
Kathryn Frankel has been arrested and charged with arson with intent to destroy an unoccupied building and other related offenses.
Firefighters battled the massive blaze in Berwyn less than three months after the same historic home was left severely damaged by another fire.
The home located on the 400 block of Leopard Road was engulfed in flames again Tuesday morning.
The home, owned by Kathryn and Craig Frankel, was built in the 1800s by one of Berwyn's founding families. It was renovated with an addition in 2022, and is reported to have an estimated value of $1.2-1.4 million.
The following information pulled from court documents, is a breakdown of the events that occurred from the viewpoints of Kathryn and Craig Frankel, officials, paramedics, neighbors, and a public adjuster.
Who was in the house when the fire occurred?
According to court documents, Kathryn was home alone at the time of the fire.
Kathryn Frankel's side of the story
Detective John T. Fallon, of Easttown Township Police Department, said he learned that neighbors reported the fire, and they saw Kathryn wandering around the property.
Kathryn was being loaded into an ambulance when she gave Detective Fallon her side of the story.
She said she was in the house with her estranged husband, Craig, and a public adjuster, James Rode, to discuss what property might be salvaged.
Kathryn said Craig left not long after the adjuster arrived. She said she went through the property with Rode, who left about 30 minutes before the fire started.
According to Kathryn, she was in the home alone, sitting by the pool, when she heard a noise in the house.
She said she went back in the mud room to check the noise and was confronted with the fire occurring between the mudroom and the kitchen.
Detective Fallon noticed Kathryn’s hands and shirt sleeves were covered in soot and the hair on her head was singed.
She was transported to Paoli Hospital for further medical examination.
Craig Frankel's side of the story
Upon interviewing Kathryn’s estranged husband and co-owner of the home, Craig, he told the detective he was in the house with Kathryn and Rode that morning around 9 a.m., but left shortly after.
Craig said after the first fire, he noticed the electric bill still showed signs of usage and when he notified the PECO, they confirmed both gas and electric services were disconnected.
The public adjuster's side of the story
When interviewing Rode, he said there were no signs to indicate anything was burning.
He said the property was not energized as he had to use a flashlight to light his way through the property.
Before leaving at around 9:30 a.m., he said he noticed Kathryn walk out and open the garage door.
Neighbor Burns' POV
A neighbor from across the street said he looked out the window at 10:42 a.m. and saw Kathryn walking around appearing to be talking to herself, when he noticed smoke coming from the house.
The neighbor went outside, and he heard Kathryn say, "How does this happen twice, I need to get stuff out of the house."
He said another neighbor, Krysten Weeks, came and sat with Kathryn while his daughter called 911.
Neighbor Krysten Weeks' POV
Detective Kevin Price interviewed Weeks, and she said she noticed the house on fire, and she went and sat down beside Kathryn to try and calm her down.
She also said she noticed Kathryn was covered in soot as her hands shook. While talking to Weeks, she said Kathryn had speculated the first fire was electrical or power lines related.
Paramedics POV
When paramedics asked Kathryn if she had inhaled smoke or was burned, she replied no but agreed to go to the hospital for further examination.
A paramedic told detective Price that she noticed Kathryn was covered in soot and her nose hairs appeared to be singed.
She said that Kathryn stated multiple times that she was near the mud room and reported some kind of sudden explosion. The paramedic also noted Kathryn said, "I don’t know what happened."
Official investigation begins
Upon arrival at the scene, Chester County Assistant Fire Marshal Randall Patton conducted an origin and cause investigation while the fire was still being put out. The fire marshal noticed a cigarette lighter near the pool.
Police went to Paoli Hospital and collected the clothes Kathryn was wearing to prevent possible destruction of evidence. Kathryn’s clothes were placed in an evidence can and an officer’s K9 partner, named Gracie, who is trained to alert the presence of ignitable liquids, alerted the can of clothing.
Officials say there is probable cause that Kathryn Frankel started a fire inside the residence due to the following reasons:
- Kathryn was the only person present in the home at the time of the fire,
- The appearance of soot and singed head and nose hairs
- The lighter found near the pool
- K9 Gracie alerted ignitable liquids of the evidence with Kathryn’s clothes from the incident in it
- The house was de-energized
- This was the second time the house caught fire while Kathryn was home alone.
This is an ongoing investigation.
Check back for more updates.