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Bensalem Police say the fire occurred at 5:22 a.m. on Monday, February 10 on the 5200 block of Merganser Way.
Bensalem Police and Fire Rescue responded to the fire and located six adult residents who had evacuated from the home, some jumping out of second-story windows to escape the flames.
The residents were able to escape thanks to the heroic efforts of the mother living inside the home who observed the fire at 5:17 a.m.
“The fire started when all the residents in the house were sleeping. This is obviously a nightmare for anyone,” said Bensalem Police Sergeant, Glenn Vandegrift.
Police began investigating and found that the fire had been intentionally set by 21-year-old Harrison Jones who was the the ex-boyfriend of a Michigan girl who was currently in an online relationship with a 22-year-old resident living in the home on Merganser Way.
Jones’ ex-girlfriend was supposed to come from Michigan to Bensalem to meet her love interest in person for the first time this week. They had been engaged in an online relationship.
As detectives worked to figure out who set the fire, detectives found surveillance footage showing a 2021 black Volkswagen Passat with Michigan plates passing the home on Merganser way and stopping at the Mallard Drive intersection at 5:01 a.m.
Jones was captured on camera exiting the car, and walking towards the rear of the house. After approximately 4 minutes, he returns to the car, grabs an object and heads back to the rear of the house where he stays for another 12 minutes.
At 5:18 a.m. he is then caught on camera running from the home, getting in his vehicle, and fleeing towards Portside Drive.
Police say Jones had come to the house from the I-95 exit at Street Road at approximately 1:24 a.m. and drove directly to the neighborhood, where camped out in his vehicle for a few hours before igniting the fire.
Upon fleeing, Jones returned onto I-95 South at 5:24 a.m. and drove back to Michigan.
After Jones fled, smoke could be seen billowing from the backyard of the home, and an explosion occurred 30 seconds later, engulfing the home in flames.
Police said a major lead in the case was their use of a grainy image of the Volkswagen Passat from a neighbor’s surveillance system.
Detectives were then able to narrow down the car using the automated license plate
Readers found that the vehicle belonged to Brian Jones of Rockford, Michigan. The car was captured heading back to Michigan after setting fire to the home.
The mother living inside the home told police that before the fire occurred she recalled hearing suspicious noises coming from the first floor of her home. When she left her bedroom to investigate she saw an adult male walking down the steps in the home and assumed it was her son. When the noises continued she exited the room at 5:17 a.m. and immediately saw a fire in the kitchen and living room. She promptly evacuated her family members from the home.
Police determined it was Jones inside the home, not the son.
“This family was extremely lucky to survive this. It is clear to us that Mr. Jones had murderous intentions. That evening, six people were residing and sleeping in that residence when the fight when the house was lit on fire. He drove over 730 miles, 11 hours to do what he did, and then drove directly back home. It’s a miracle they all survived, and we credit the mother of that house for taking the actions she did to protect her family and ensure that they all lived.” said Sergeant Glenn Vandegrift.
All six adults were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The fire engulfed the two-story single-family home, resulting in a total loss of the home, and the loss of the family’s two dogs.
Harrison Jones is being charged with six counts of Attempted Criminal Homicide, Arson, Risking Catastrophe, and related offenses.
The Kent County Sheriff’s Department in Michigan arrested him, and he is awaiting extradition back to Pennsylvania.
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