Man Pleads Guilty To Felony Charge In Newtown Borough Building Fire

NEWTOWN BOROUGH — A Newtown Borough man pleaded guilty to risking a catastrophe in a March 2022 fire that heavily damaged a building in the heart of the South State Street business district.

Scott R. Krukowski, 35, was arraigned in 2022 after being taken into custody on an arrest warrant. He was remanded to Bucks County Prison on $5 million bail (10 percent).

In 2023, Krukowski pleaded guilty to risking a catastrophe, a second-degree felony, and was sentenced to between six and 23 months in prison.

The fire damaged a third floor apartment at 26.5 South State Street and caused extensive smoke and water damage to a second floor apartment and to the Pro Shop located on the first floor of the building.

Just before 1 a.m. on March 24, 2022, Newtown Borough Police Officer George Rusinko was on patrol when he noticed smoke in the area of 26 South Main and began to investigate. He drove to the rear of the building where he observed heavy smoke and flames coming from the third floor windows. He called firefighters to the scene and assisted with the evacuation of residents from the building and from neighboring structures.

Firefighters from seven companies battled the fire for nearly an hour, placing it under control at 1:49 p.m. and preventing it from spreading to adjacent buildings in the town’s historic business district. Crews remained on the scene for several hours hitting hot spots and conducting mop up operations.

The third floor apartment sustained the brunt of the blaze with fire, smoke and water damage while the second floor apartment and first floor retail space sustained smoke and water damage.