Dismissed car dealership accused of crashing through the garage door and setting fire to the building in central Pa.

A laid-off employee at a Blair County auto service center faces charges after police allege he deliberately set the garage on fire.

The fire occurred at around 11:21 p.m. Monday at the Blue Knob Auto Service Center on Route 764 in Allegheny Township, Allegheny Township police said.

The Pennsylvania State Police firefighter was called on site and confirmed that the fire appeared to have been started on purpose, police said.

Through the investigation, police said they had identified Nathan J. Hall, 43, from Duncansville as a suspect.

According to police, Hall was a recently resigned employee of the Blue Knob Service Center.

Investigators say he crashed his vehicle through the garage door on the night of the fire to break into the building. It then ignited a flammable liquid inside, investigators say.

He was taken into custody on Tuesday. Court records show he has been charged with arson, burglary, criminal offense, criminal mischief, disaster risk, reckless burning, and reckless endangering of another person.

The rear of the building was severely damaged and the store was temporarily closed, WJAC reports.

But operations manager Jeremy Nagle told WJAC that they have a backup plan.

“At this point, we are not sure when we can reopen, but we will try to at least make a shortened schedule with some of our internal repair facilities until we are up and running again,” Nagle told the station. “The damage here is serious.”