If police catch him, an arsonist in Clearfield County will be held responsible for the death of a firefighter who died of a heart attack after battling a blaze at an abandoned building near the village of Westover.

Roy Westover Jr., 41, a veteran firefighter with the Westover Area Volunteer Fire Company, suffered a heart attack at the scene early Saturday morning after telling fellow firefighters that he didn't feel well.

He died at Miners Medical Hospital.

State police fire marshals have ruled the fire an arson but wouldn't reveal any details about their evidence. They were still combing through the debris yesterday.

Under the state felony statute, a suspect who sets a fire that results in death can be charged with homicide. It's happened several times in Western Pennsylvania after firefighters have suffered fatal heart attacks at set fires, and state police said they'll file the charge if they figure out who torched the house.

The most recent similar case was a 2007 arson in Elizabeth Borough that triggered a heart attack that killed the town's volunteer fire chief, Leonard Bailey.

Rodger Matthews of Elizabeth pleaded guilty earlier this year.

In the early morning of Sept. 12, 2007, Mr. Matthews banged on Chief Bailey's door and yelled that a bar was on fire.

Chief Bailey went outside, saw the flames and went back inside to call in the alarm. He was found dead in his living room next to his fire radio.

Mr. Matthews, who admitted he burglarized the business and set the fire, was sentenced in May to up to 15 years in prison for burglary, arson and involuntary manslaughter.

Before that, the most infamous local case involved the death of Pittsburgh firefighter Paul McGrath, 50, who on June 17, 1999, suffered a heart attack as he battled an arson at the old St. John General Hospital complex in Brighton Heights.

Police charged the teens responsible, ages 13 and 17, with homicide and arson.

Initially they were charged as adults, but a judge later granted motions for them to be tried as juveniles. They were both found guilty and sent to juvenile treatment facilities.

In Clearfield County, arson has been a continuing problem this year. Firefighters have responded to some 30 arsons or suspected arsons in the southern part of the county and in parts of neighboring Indiana and Cambria counties.

Saturday's came in at 12:13 a.m. at an abandoned two-story home on Route 36 about a half-mile outside of the heart of town.

Lt. Westover, a member of the Westover company for 28 years, had been on the scene for about a half-hour when he said he felt sick. An ambulance took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:06 a.m. The coroner ruled that he died of a stress-induced heart attack.

Lt. Westover, who worked at Wickett and Craig, a tannery in Curwensville, was active in the town of 500 and involved in training at the fire hall for many years.

A widower since the death of his wife three years ago, he was raising his three teenage sons. Two of them were junior members at the fire company and sometimes accompanied him on calls, although they were not out on the one that claimed his life.

"He was very well-liked and respected in the community," said Josh Quigley, director of the county's emergency management center. "He'll definitely be missed by the fire company, by the other fire companies in the area and by the entire Clearfield County community."

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