Cops: Squatter at 69th St. Payless started fire
Officials say others may be living above 69th Street stores
THE OTHER shoe has dropped on the investigation into the fire Monday at an Upper Darby Payless and police say a sole person is responsible for the blaze.
That individual is a homeless man who was squatting on the vacant second floor of the building that houses the shoe store on 69th Street near Ludlow.
Cops say he is responsible for Monday's blaze that totaled the store and severely damaged many others along the popular shopping corridor.
At a news conference yesterday in front of the burned-out Payless, Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood announced the arrest of James Morris, 54, who is believed to have accidentally started the blaze.
Morris is charged with trespassing, for squatting in the building, and with theft because he was scrapping metal he had taken from the property, police said.
Just minutes before the blaze, Morris was seen drinking booze and throwing scrap metal - including a fire extinguisher - from the second story of the building down to a man who was collecting it on the ground, according to his arrest affidavit.
Morris was living on the second floor of the building with two or three other people, said Chitwood. It's believed they accessed the second floor through a fire escape entrance, according to police.
Both Chitwood and Upper Darby Mayor Thomas Micozzie said more people could be squatting in the empty second floors of store buildings along 69th Street. Micozzie said he ordered a full inspection of the entire area.
Police said Morris was inside the building at the time of the fire. While the cause remains under investigation, Upper Darby Fire Chief Edward Cubler said it appears accidental.
"We do believe whatever took place was not intentionally done, but it still took place," Cubler said.
It took firefighters several hours on Monday to fight the blaze, which broke out about 5:30 p.m. Adjacent buildings were damaged in the fire and residents of a nearby road were evacuated as a precaution, but no injuries were reported.
While investigators were on the scene Tuesday, Morris allegedly approached them and asked "How bad is it?" according to his affidavit.
While Morris was speaking with investigators, other officers were interviewing a witness and broadcast a description of Morris over police radio. The witness was brought to Morris and the witness positively identified him as the man he saw throwing scrap metal from the building's second story prior to the fire, police said.
Morris is being held at the Delaware County Prison on $50,000 bail.
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