Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that a jury has found 21-year-old Corey Green of Buffalo guilty on four counts of Arson in the Third Degree.

On April 22, 2017, at approximately 3:26 a.m., the defendant intentionally set a fire in the back entranceway of an occupied apartment building on Ingham Avenue in the City of Lackawanna. Four families were living in the building at the time of the fire. 

Three of the families were able to escape unharmed, but members of the Lackawanna Fire Department rescued a family of five who were trapped in the upper rear apartment.

Three children were asleep inside the second-floor apartment at the time of the blaze. A three-year-old boy suffered third-degree burns on his arm and inner thighs. He spent several weeks at Strong Memorial Hospital where he received skin grafts. He will suffer permanent scarring as a result of his burns. A four-year-old girl suffered smoke inhalation, which resulted in a partially collapsed lung. Also, she suffered facial lacerations while escaping from the fire. A 6-month-old girl was also treated for smoke inhalation.

The mother of the children spent several weeks at ECMC in a medically induced coma to be treated for smoke inhalation and severe burns on her back. The father fractured his foot and his spine while escaping from the second story. He continues to use a wheelchair due to his limited mobility.

The apartment was uninhabitable following the arson, and all of the families affected were forced to relocate.

Green faces a maximum of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced by State Supreme Court Justice Christopher J. Burns on Tuesday, October 2 at 9:30 a.m.

DA Flynn commends the rescue efforts of the Lackawanna firefighters who risked their lives to save the family. DA Flynn also acknowledges the investigative work of Captains Joseph Leo and Aaron Brennan of the Lackawanna Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Paul J. Glascott, Chief of the DA’s Vehicular Crimes Bureau, and Nathanael C. Kapperman of the DA’s Felony Trials Bureau.