ERIE, Pa. -- An initial look at a Feb. 4 fire at a west Erie apartment that sent a 3-year-old boy to a hospital with serious burns led fire inspectors to suspect it was set off by a blanket that got too close to a space heater.
A closer look by Erie and state police led investigators to blame the blaze on a "one-pot" methamphetamine lab that exploded.
The boy, who was treated at UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh, suffered severe burns to his face, hands, feet, legs and stomach in the explosion and fire inside an upstairs apartment in the 600 block of West Fourth Street. Investigators charge that Stephen G. Godfrey, 34, of Erie, was watching the boy and was making methamphetamine in the apartment when the explosion and fire occurred.
Godfrey, whose last known address was in the 600 block of West Fourth Street, remained in the Erie County Prison on Thursday on $100,000 bond after his arraignment Wednesday by Erie 6th Ward District Judge Dominick DiPaolo on charges including manufacture of methamphetamine with a child present; operating a methamphetamine lab; manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver; causing or risking a catastrophe; and endangering the welfare of children.
The incident was first reported Feb. 4 at 4:52 a.m., when Erie firefighters were called to West Fourth and Poplar streets on a report of an explosion. The small fire was out when firefighters arrived.
While Erie police were on the scene, an Erie Bureau of Fire inspector initially ruled the fire as accidental, according to investigators. Chief Fire Inspector Guy Santone said on the day of the fire that it appeared to have been set off when a blanket the boy was using while lying on a couch got too close to a space heater and ignited.
According to the Pennsylvania State Police, who filed the charges against Godfrey, the boy's mother told Erie police she believed the fire was the result of drugs. Police said they also learned from a neighbor that two males had placed bags of garbage in a pickup truck before police arrived at the fire scene, according to information contained in the affidavit of probable cause filed with the criminal complaint against Godfrey.
Later that day, a man went to the Erie Bureau of Police and told detectives that Godfrey came to his home and wanted to leave his truck or bags of garbage there. The man said he was told the garbage contained items from a methamphetamine lab, according to the affidavit.
The man said he told Godfrey he could not leave the items at his residence, and then left. When the man returned home later, he found two trash cans, three bags and a burnt suitcase on his property, and he reported it to Erie police, investigators wrote in the affidavit.
Members of the state police Clandestine Laboratory Response Team checked the contents of the garbage and found items commonly used in making methamphetamine, as well as items belonging to Godfrey. Investigators searched the West Fourth Street apartment and found remnants of a "one-pot" vessel under a crib, and wrapped in a blanket, which appeared to have been on fire, according to the affidavit.
TIM HAHN can be reached at 870-1731 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNhahn.
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