KITTANNING Jury selection is scheduled to begin today in the trial of a former volunteer firefighter accused of starting a duplex fire that killed a mother and her three children 3½ years ago.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Frederick Anthony Robinson, 54, who is accused of setting the Sept. 2, 2005 fire.

The blaze killed a longtime friend of his, Crystal Johnson, 40, and her three children, who were 11, 5 and 2 years old.

A state trooper testified in a November 2005 hearing that Robinson acknowledged setting the fire and said voices in his head told him to do it.

A judge Friday denied a bid to delay the trial so defense attorneys could seek a new arson expert witness. He also declined to allow testimony by an expert witness on false confessions.