Fire investigators say an Aberdeen-area house is a total loss after two juvenile neighbors playing with a lighter set two trash bags on fire on a rear porch Tuesday evening, while the occupants, who had just moved in, were not home.
While no injuries to people were reported, a family dog and pet bird died in the fire. Damage is estimated at $100,000 to the dwelling and $100,000 to contents.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal does not plan to file juvenile charges against the two 5-year-olds, or charges against their parents, because of the children's age, and the fire was clearly an accident.
"It was not a malicious act, it was not an intentional act; it was just a clear case of juvenile fire play," Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire said Wednesday afternoon.
The fire in the single-story frame dwelling, in the 4800 block of Old Philadelphia Road, was reported by neighbors at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, according to a notice of investigation from the Fire Marshal's Office.
Alkire said the children had visited the house earlier Tuesday, and they wanted to go back to play with the family's two dogs. They got to the property via a "common back yard" behind houses on that block.
One child was playing with a cigarette lighter and lit a bag of trash, which was on the rear deck, on fire.
The bags were near vinyl siding on the walls of the house, so the flames "went straight up the house into the attic, and the fire spread rapidly from there," Alkire said.
Although the house is in the Aberdeen ZIP Code, it is close to the Riverside Business Park area and other developments along Route 7 between Riverside and the Aberdeen city limits. The first arriving fire company was Abingdon, according to the notice of investigation.
In all, 40 firefighters from area companies battled the fire for at least 30 minutes according to the notice of investigation.
The house is a rental, owned by Raymond Nichols, according to fire investigators. The family living in the house – a man, woman and two children – had moved in Friday and had left to run errands approximately an hour before the fire was reported, according to the notice of investigation.
"The home and its entire contents are considered a complete loss," the notice states. "[The] Red Cross and Harford County Disaster Assistance are assisting the family."
The family's neighbors, including the family of the 5-year-old children, are also providing assistance, Alkire said.
"It was a sad case from all angles," he said.
Alkire noted his agency typically looks at each case involving juveniles, between the ages of 7 and 17, individually, to determine if charges are necessary.
"Charges would not benefit anyone at this point," Alkire said.