State Fire Marshal: 7-year-old with lighter started Howard Lake fire that damaged 2 homes, church
HOWARD LAKE, Minn. -- A 7-year-old boy playing with a lighter started a fire that damaged two homes and a church in Howard Lake late last month, according to the State Fire Marshal Division.
The division released its investigative report about the fire on the 1000 block of Seventh Avenue Tuesday. The report listed the cause as "juvenile fire setter."
The boy's father told investigators that his son used a lighter to set a stick aflame, then stomped it out. A storage shed in the yard caught fire, and the flames eventually spread to the garage and house, a neighboring house and nearby St. James Lutheran Church.
The report states there is "no previous history of juvenile firesetting."
Per the marshal's report, all three structures sustained exterior damage, and the house where the fire started also has interior damage. The garage was completely destroyed. No injuries were reported.
