PORT TOWNSEND — A Wednesday morning brush fire with flames that reportedly reached heights of 6 feet was started by a 9-year-old boy playing with a lighter, said Detective Luke Bogues of the Port Townsend Police Department.
The case will be forwarded to the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Bogues said, because the flames damaged a flatbed trailer parked nearby.
Reckless burning
Creating a fire that damages property, such as the trailer, constitutes reckless burning in the first degree, he said in a news release.
The 9-year-old boy, who was not identified because of his age, and a 4-year-old friend tried to stamp out the flames in the 1000 block of G Street after dry grass ignited, Bogues said, then told adults who called emergency dispatchers at 10:59 a.m., reporting a fire covering a 12-foot-by-12-foot area.
When the first emergency responders arrived, they found that neighbors had suppressed the flames with garden hoses, leaving only patches of smoldering dried grass, Bogues said.
Water, then foam
Firefighters doused the area with water, then spread foam on the charred ground to prevent embers from reigniting.
A dark-blue BIC lighter was found near melted children’s toys in the fire area, Bogues said.
Bogues said the boy admitted to playing with the lighter.
By state law, children ages 8 through 11 are presumed incapable of committing crimes unless they can be deemed capable of understanding the act they committed was wrong.
