Two boys playing with a lighter are accused of starting a fire that caused heavy damage to a Cherokee County home, the fire department said Friday.
No injuries were reported in the Wednesday afternoon fire on Darby Road near Waleska, according to Tim Cavender, spokesman for the fire department. But the home is currently uninhabitable and three adults and two children were displaced.
According to investigators, two boys — ages 9 and 11 — found the lighter Tuesday evening.
“The next day the boys went inside an outbuilding and started setting fire to some Styrofoam,” Cavender said in an emailed statement. “The boys also said that they stomped the fire out and went outside.”
A few minutes later, fire and smoke were seen coming from the outbuilding, quickly igniting the nearby home, Cavender said. The house was engulfed when firefighters were called to the scene around 4:45 p.m., he said.
The boys, whose names were not released, did not live in the home that burned and will not face criminal charges. Both will be referred to a firesetter intervention program, Cavender said.
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