Reward offered for information on Philly subway arson

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for setting a fire at a Philadelphia subway stop earlier this week. Steven Bartholomew, a spokesman for the Philadelphia field division of the federal bureau, said  the fire at the Broad and Girard subway stop could have been a more serious incident if it weren’t for the quick response of the city fire department. “ATF takes all arson very serious,” Bartholomew said.  “There was approximately $25,000 in damage done to the subway platform and we’re asking for the public’s help — anybody who may have seen anything suspicious or any suspicious activity in the area around 2 p.m. on Feb.1.” SEPTA spokeswoman Jerri Williams said damage from the fire could rise well above $25,000. “We’ve got extensive smoke damage down there,” Williams said.  “The station is under renovation, we had painted, and all that painting was destroyed.  We have damage to the lighting and power circuits. And the construction storage area where the fire occurred also was totally destroyed.”

Anyone with information should call the local ATF office or the ATF 24/7 hotline at 1-888-ATF-FIRE.