Boy charged after fire in his Edgewood apartment

An Edgewood boy allegedly set fire to a tent in the living room of his apartment Thursday.

"If it was not for the sprinklers either we would have serious injuries to at least the kids, or they would have had issues getting out," Deputy Oliver Alkire with the fire marshal's office said.

Around 3:32 a.m., a fire started in Valerie Dehaven's apartment in the 900 block of Cedar Crest Court, according to deputy state fire marshals.

Officials say the fire started in the living room of the apartment when an 8-year-old boy was playing with fire and allegedly set a tent where he was sleeping aflame. The tent was erected inside the living room of the apartment.

The boy allegedly started the fire and his brother, who was with him, yelled to alert his mother and her boyfriend, Alkire said.

When the adults rushed into the living room, they saw what they described as "a large fireball," said Alkire, who investigated the fire.

The heat was enough to trigger the sprinkler system, which sent out an automatic alarm and brought firefighter response.

Four firefighters from Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company arrived at the scene to find the flames already extinguished by the sprinkler system.

The mother's boyfriend was injured while trying to put out the flames, but refused medical treatment, according to fire officials.

He explained the layout of the apartment and the location of the apartment may have trapped the residents inside had the sprinklers not extinguished the flames.

"There's only one way in one way out," Alkire said.

The fire caused about $9,000 damage to the three-story apartment building and about $1,000 to what was inside the apartment. There was extensive water damage to the apartment where the fire started and the apartment below it.

The boy was charged with arson and reckless endangerment then released back into the custody of his parents.

"Juvenile fire play is the motive, he's just fascinated with fire," Alkire said. "Fortunately we do have a juniors fire program that he can be referred to."