City Man Set 30 Pizza Boxes on Fire, Police Say

A New Street man risked two homes and eight lives when—in a misguided effort to get rid of his garbage—he set fire to 30 pizza boxes and a dried-out Christmas tree early Easter morning, Bethlehem police said.

Christian Victor Duarte, 30, had trouble getting the fire started at first when he tried to light up just two of the pizza boxes, according to an arrest affidavit. So, to get the fire started, he added gasoline, police said.

Then he added another 28 pizza boxes and a three-plus-month-old discarded Christmas tree, the affidavit says. At this point, the flames grew so large and hot that Duarte “had to jump over the fence to get away from them,” he told police, it says.

How large and hot was the fire?

It melted a nearby large plastic garbage can, the affidavit says. One observer called 911 to report that the flames were nearly as high as the second floor and that he thought the house was on fire.

The Bethlehem Fire Department had to be called to extinguish the fire that was just feet from Duarte’s home at 935 N. New St. and 933 N. New St., the affidavit says.

Initially, Duarte, 30, told police that he was asleep the whole time, the affidavit says. The blaze was ignited at about 5:45 a.m.

But the following day, Duarte came to Bethlehem police headquarters to say how he had started the fire, the affidavit says.

On Thursday, Duarte was officially charged with risking a catastrophe—a third-class felony—and recklessly endangering another person.

He was arraigned before District Judge Roy Manwaring and released on unsecured bail.