Apr 20, 2011 By Patty Yauger 2 min read

DUNBAR TWP. — An Everson man is behind bars after allegedly setting fire Monday night to an abandoned farmhouse in the village of Morrell.

Jeffrey Blystone, 18, of 421 Brown St., is charged by state police with arson, dangerous death and bodily injury and reckless burning and exploding in places uninhabited in connection with the 8:46?p.m. fire.

He was arraigned early Friday at the Fayette County Booking Center and remanded to the Fayette County Prison on $50,000 bond.

According to state police fire marshal Tom Maher, firefighters reportedly saw Blystone running from the area when they arrived on the scene.

“They confronted him and told him to wait until we got there, and he did,” said Maher.

During the investigation, Maher said that Blystone allegedly confessed to setting the fire, but gave no reason for doing so.

“He didn’t say why he did it,” said Maher.

Mark Virgilio, Morrell Volunteer Fire Department chief, said that the two-story stone house was fully engulfed when the firefighters arrived on the scene.

Because of the location of the structure — nearly one mile from the nearest fire hydrant — Virgilio said that more than 2,000 feet of fire hose was laid and several tanker trucks needed to battle the blaze.

“It was tough getting water, but once we got the line laid and got a couple of engines on the hydrants, it was OK,” he said.

The property at 231 Morrell Road is owned by Herman Family Associates, according to Virgilio.

In addition to state police and Morrell firefighters, volunteer firefighters from Dunbar, Monarch, Bullskin Township, North Union Township, DL&V, Connellsville Township, New Haven Hose Company, Dawson and West Leisenring responded to the blaze.

A preliminary hearing for Blystone, meanwhile, has been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday before Magisterial District Judge Dwight Shaner.