A Wheatland woman was arrested Friday night on a charge of arson for torching her mobile home Dec. 26 in Oak Leaf Estates, Shenango Township, police said.

Melissa S. Rhoades, 24, of 79 Laird Ave., was arraigned Saturday morning by District Justice Henry J. Russo, Hermitage, and taken to Mercer County Jail after failing to post $25,000 bond, police said this morning.

The arrest followed a week-long investigation in which an informant, who was wired so that conversations could be recorded, talked with Ms. Rhodes about the fire, police said.

"The defendant described in detail how she set the fire in the trailer," said Chief Ronald Preston.

Ms. Rhodes set a rug on fire with a lighter, police said.

The fire gutted the older-model trailer at 92 James St., police said. The blaze caused $10,000 damage, which might have been a total loss, police said.

Ms. Rhoades wanted the insurance money, police said.

The Dec. 26 fire was Ms. Rhoades' third attempt to burn the trailer, police said. Preston said firefighters were not called for the other two attempts.

"She didn't go into detail on what those other two occurrences were," he said.

A state police fire marshal visited the fire scene that night, and a state police crime unit was called in later.

Authorities grew suspicious of the cause upon learning that their initial thought, that it was caused by a hot water heater, was not possible because there was no electricity in the home, police said. It was vacant because Ms. Rhoades had already moved to 79 Laird, police said.