Wednesday, July 14, 1999
Covington teen charged with arson
Police: Boy set blaze that hurt fireman
BY KRISTINA GOETZ
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — Police have charged a 14-year-old with third-degree arson in connection with a fire that started in an abandoned building next door to his home and injured a firefighter.
“He has set fires before but hasn't been charged,” Covington Police Detective Bud Vallandingham said the boy told him. “Whether he goes to detention, that's up to the court-designated worker.”
Detective Vallandingham said the boy also said he was expelled from school for setting a fire.
Covington firefighters were called to 217 Trebor St. around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Covington Assistant Fire Chief Bill Engel said there was a lot of smoke and fire between the buildings. “It seems to have started in the roof area, which is unusual,” he said. “We're investigating some leads.”
The 14-year-old, whom The Cincinnati Enquirer is not naming because he is a juvenile, said he was at home alone when the fire started.
“I looked out and opened the window and looked down and saw a whole bunch of flames,” he said.
He then ran down to the second floor to fill a bucket of water in the bathtub, trying to douse the flames, which were coming from the other building. “I did that a couple of times,” he said.
But one neighbor said she saw the 14-year-old on a second-story ledge throwing something that was on fire on top of the roof.
“He tried to throw water on it,” said Shavelle Bandy, a neighbor. “It started as a little fire. And he tried to put it out, and it just flamed up. Then it just got worse and worse.”
Covington firefighter Tom Sullivan, who injured a shoulder while tearing down a piece of the ceiling, was treated at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Covington and released.
Firefighters said there was extensive damage done to the roof of the building where the boy lives, 215 Trebor St., and that it would have to be replaced before the two families who live there could move back.
“We've got the Red Cross coming to help them out,” Assistant Chief Engel said, adding that there was water in the electrical system and smoke damage. “This will be repaired easy enough.”
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