PALM BAY, Florida — Two teenage boys were arrested for setting a small brush fire in a vacant lot in southeast Palm Bay, Florida. Police spokesperson Yvonne Martinez said in a release that a second, unrelated house fire on Sloan Street NW was also deliberately set – but the investigation in that case is still ongoing.
Shortly before noon on Sunday, Palm Bay police and firefighters responded to the area of Brickell Street and Trinidad Avenue SE for reports of a brush fire. When firefighters arrived, they contained the fire to the northwest corner. There were no structures in danger and no injuries reported.
Witnesses in the area at the time of the fire reported to authorities that they saw two juveniles running from the scene right after the fire started. Patrol officers quickly located two 13-year-old boys in the area matching the description given by the witnesses. The boys were interviewed and allegedly admitted to setting the fires. Both boys were charged with intentional burning of lands and were turned over to the Juvenile Detention Center for processing. One of the boys was reported as a runaway the night before the fire.
About a half-hour before the Brickell Street fire, Palm Bay firefighters responded to the 1100 block of Sloan Street for reports of a structure fire. By time firefighters arrived, there were flames visible through the roof of a vacant house that is in foreclosure. The fire marshal responded to the scene to begin the investigation which revealed the fire was deliberately set with multiple points of origin. It is the third fire at the residence since June.
The investigation is ongoing with assistance from the state fire marshal’s office and authorities say the Sloan Street fire is unrelated to the Brickell Street fire.