PITTSBURGH -- A volunteer firefighter accused of setting a couch on fire during the Super Bowl celebrations in Oakland has reached a deal with prosecutors.
Channel 4 Action News' Ari Hait reported that University of Pittsburgh senior Andrew Ablog will see his charges reduced if he successfully completes an accelerated rehabilitative disposition program.
Ablog, who is a volunteer firefighter for Monaca Borough in Beaver County, was arrested and charged with arson for setting a couch on fire after the Steelers won the Super Bowl on Feb. 1.
"He should have known better, his being a volunteer firefighter and playing with accelerants. You just don't know what's going to happen," said detective Mike Burns of the Pittsburgh police department.
At a preliminary hearing on Thursday, prosecutors said Ablog with have a charge of risking a catastrophe reduced to a misdemeanor and he will plead guilty to that charge and a summary offense of arson.
Assuming he completes ARD, all the charges will be wiped from Ablog's record, Hait reported. Burns, who was the arresting officer, said he's all for the deal.
"He was very cooperative through the investigation. He admitted to what he did. And there's a lot more consequences he's going to have to face through school and everything else," Burns said.
Burns did not know what will happen to Ablog in regards to his status at school. University officials declined to comment. Ablog also declined to comment on his situation.
Police used WTAE Channel 4's video of post-Super Bowl mayhem to identify the suspect in the Oakland couch burning.
According to the criminal complaint, Pittsburgh police identified 22-year-old Ablog as the shirtless, tattooed man seen pouring lighter fluid on a burning couch during WTAE's live coverage after the Super Bowl XLIII.
Following the Steelers' victory, police said a number of people broke windows, overturned cars and set fires near the University of Pittsburgh. A bus shelter was also torn down on Fifth Avenue.
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