5-Year-Olds Set Blaze That Destroyed Aberdeen Home: Fire Marshal

ABERDEEN, MD — Officials say that children playing with a lighter ignited a house fire that claimed the life of a dog and bird in Aberdeen Tuesday night. The family that lived in the house had just moved in on Friday.

A neighbor reported the fire, which began on the back porch of the home in the 4800 block of Philadelphia Road, at approximately 7:15 p.m., according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

The fire marshal said that the family had gone out to run errands about an hour before when two 5-year-old neighbors playing with a lighter set two trash bags on the back porch on fire. Officials said the children confessed to setting the fire.

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It took half an hour and approximately 40 firefighters to put out the blaze.

The house was considered a total loss, the fire marshal said. There was $100,000 in structural damage; in addition, approximately $100,000 worth of items inside were lost.

A family dog and bird died as a result of the blaze, the fire marshal said.

The family was being assisted by the Red Cross and Harford County disaster officials.

Photo Credit: Steve Hull, Fallston Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Company.