Crime & Safety

Weekend Fire Started by Boy with Lighter

No one injured in blaze on Jesse Avenue

A child playing with a lighter started a fire in Kent over the weekend.

No one was injured in the blaze, which was contained to the living room at 1134 Jesse Ave.

Capt. John Tosko said a boy set his living room couch on fire at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

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"And it set the rest of the room on fire," Tosko said. "It didn't go much further beyond the living room."

Tosko said the smoke alarms in the rental unit went off and woke up the boy's babysitter, who then got him out. No one else was home and no injuries were reported.

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In the past, Kent's fire department ran a counseling program that worked with children who started fires with matches, lighters or other means. But the department discontinued the program because such fires were practically eliminated .

Now, the department refers children in such cases to a similar program run by Akron Children's Hospital. Whether they'll refer the child who started Saturday's fire is uncertain, Tosko said.

"We’ll talk with the police department," he said.

The initial damage estimate from the fire is $50,000. Through August, Kent's fire department has responded to 565 fire calls this year.

Oddly, Saturday's fire came almost a year to the day from a basement fire at the same rental unit on Jesse Avenue. Tosko said different tenants were living there when the fire started Sept. 26, 2010. That fire was totally unrelated to Saturday's fire, he said.


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