Boardman house fire being treated as arson

The fire started in an upstairs bedroom and hallway.

STAFF REPORT

BOARDMAN — A house fire on Sunset Boulevard is being treated as arson, but no charges have been filed against the two occupants believed to have started the blaze.

Boardman Township Fire Department officials responded to a call at 3930 Sunset Blvd. just after 1:30 p.m. Sunday. The single-family home, valued at $90,000, had about $25,000 in damage and $5,000 in lost contents, according to a report. The fire was extinguished within minutes with the use of a single truck.

The fire started when two of the home’s occupants were playing with a lighter and candle in the upstairs of the home, according to a police report.

The two occupants told police that they “sprayed lighter fluid on the walls, lit it on fire and watched it burn out. The activity continued until paper items in the bedroom caught fire and they were unable to extinguish the fire,” according to the report.

Both occupants escaped the home without injury and were released to the custody of their mother.

Boardman Police detective Doug Flara said he would forward the case to the county prosecutor to determine if charges will be filed.

One of the occupants, a juvenile, will enroll in the Juvenile Firesetter Program, a free educational program administered by the Boardman Fire Department.

Names of the two occupants who told police they started the fire have not been released because charges have not yet been filed.