A Dunmore man was sentenced Friday in Carbon County Court for his role in a fire that damaged multiple trailers and a building at the Estes Express Lines truck terminal in Mahoning Township in 2022.

Anthony Dick, 42, received a sentence of one year minus a day to two years minus a day in prison after pleading guilty in January to a third-degree felony charge of risking catastrophe.

Carbon County President Judge Roger Nanovic also ordered Dick to pay $100,000 in restitution to Estes Express Lines and an additional $2.4 million to the company’s insurance carrier, Axa XL.

“I apologize for my actions,” Dick said during his sentencing hearing. “I realize now I have people who need my attention, and I can’t be making stupid mistakes. I honestly don’t know what was going through my head at that point.”

As part of a plea agreement, two first-degree arson charges were dropped. However, Dick still faces separate arson charges in connection with a fire at a Scranton warehouse in September 2024.

Incident details

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Mahoning Township Police Officer Corey Frey, the fire at Estes Express Lines occurred on Aug. 24, 2022, at approximately 7:32 p.m.

When Frey arrived, he found a trailer engulfed in flames. Employees at the scene reported that the trailer contained hazardous and flammable materials and that propane tanks were stored nearby. The fire eventually spread, consuming five trailers and causing significant damage to the building.

At the time of the fire, the business was in operation, and employees were present inside the facility. Firefighters from seven different fire departments, totaling about 85 responders, worked to bring the fire under control and extinguish it.

Investigators determined that the fire had multiple points of origin, making it impossible for it to have started accidentally.

Frey interviewed employees working at the facility, who directed him to speak with Dick. Dick stated that he had been working at Door 46 and had moved his freight near Door 37. He claimed he had gone to the restroom for two to three minutes, and upon returning, two co-workers informed him that the trailer at Door 39 was on fire. He then grabbed a fire extinguisher and attempted to put out the flames.

The business dispatcher told authorities that earlier that day, at around 2:30 p.m., Dick had reported another fire in the middle area of the building’s second floor. That fire had been extinguished before causing significant damage.

The Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal later determined that multiple fires had been intentionally set within the building. Three small fires had been ignited inside the middle section, while another fire in the front/north unused portion of the building had been extinguished by the fire department. The large fire at the rear/south of the building caused the most damage, consuming trailers and impacting the structure itself.

Upon searching Dick’s belongings, police found an Ozark Trail Flint and Steel Fire Starter in his backpack. Dick claimed he had purchased the item in July for a camping trip and denied setting the fires.

Upon further questioning, Dick said he accidentally backed into a flammable skid, causing a small fire to break out, and that he ran for an extinguisher, but was too late. He said he was afraid he would be blamed for another fire that occurred in a dumpster at the business earlier that month.

Dick was asked if he intended for the fires to harm anyone, to which he replied “no.”