HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday provided new details about the arson fire early Sunday that prompted his family's evacuation from the governor's official residence in Harrisburg, recounting how wife and four kids and their two dogs — Bo and Bentley — were awakened by state police and guided to safety.
Shapiro spoke to reporters after his family served a catered lunch to Harrisburg firefighters in thanks for their role in responding to the blaze that is estimated to have caused millions in damage to the building and its contents. No one was hurt.
A suspect has been charged, and the motive is under investigation.
Shapiro is a first-term Democrat considered a potential candidate for president in 2028.
Here's what Shapiro had to say about the attack, which burned the same room where his family and guests had a Passover Seder a few hours earlier.
A fire hours after holiday meal
“We concluded our Seder maybe around 10ish or so at night," and guests, family and others were in private areas on the first floor, he said.
“Everybody was just enjoying one another and spending time celebrating not just the holiday but each other and enjoying each other’s company,” he said. Around midnight, they went upstairs and “spent an hour yelling at the kids to go to bed and they didn’t listen.”
"Said goodnight to the kids, got the dogs situated, and I'd say probably fell asleep around 1 o’clock in the morning,” Shapiro said.
Banging on the door
“Less than an hour later, I heard yelling in the hallway, which was not like our kids' voices. It was one of the state troopers running down the hallway, and he banged on the door. I don’t know how he did it, but it wasn’t a knock. It was more of a bang,” he said.
Shapiro said he and his wife, Lori, were told there was a fire and they had to evacuate immediately.
“I would say within just a few seconds we ran to each of the doors in the hallway, to open them up and get the kids up, get the dogs up and usher everybody down a back stairwell," he said. "And we followed the troopers out to the driveway area, and we were asked multiple times if everyone was present and accounted for. They were. Troopers and Capitol Police kept us safe.” Firefighters converged on the property.
Shapiro said first responders repeatedly made sure no one was missing.
Cold and misty, in pajamas
“I remember it being a cold and kind of misty night. We were all a little chilly. Everybody was in their pajamas. And we just kind of huddled up and just tried to keep the kids calm and keep everybody calm," he said. They did not realize from where they were just how much damage had been done to the other side of the house.
Emergency responders kept arriving.
“We were able to gather a few items up from the house," he said. "And then we were on our way to a safe location for all of us, and we got the kids to sleep. Got them settled.”
The next morning Shapiro returned to the fire scene.
Returning to see the damage
Shapiro and his wife were again at the residence on Thursday and examined the damage to the private areas where his family lives and the public spaces where they welcome guests.
“To see those spots that are charred and burned out and glass broken around the areas that before were happy, special places for us is tough," he said.
Mark Scolforo, The Associated Press
