ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PA — The Allegheny County Police Department has filed charges related to a fire that occurred at the Allegheny County Jail. On December 4, at 10:40 PM, the Jail Investigations Unit was alerted to a fire in a housing unit on the jail’s sixth floor.
The incident prompted a response from ACJ corrections staff and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire. All cells in the unit were evacuated, and the scene was contained. Three individuals, including one incarcerated individual and two correctional officers, were sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation evaluation. A second incarcerated person received treatment at the jail.
The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Fire Investigation Unit determined the fire to be arson.
Allegheny County Police Department’s General Investigations Unit took over the investigation, finding that the fire originated in a cell occupied by 49-year-old Brian Leach. Leach was identified as responsible for the fire, which was confined to an air vent inside his cell.
Leach faces charges of criminal mischief and three counts of recklessly endangering another person. He remains in custody at the Allegheny County Jail.