STUART — Juveniles playing with fireworks caused the fire that did an estimated $80,000 in damage to The Crossings at Indian Run Apartments on Saturday, according to Frank Lasaga, community safety coordinator for the city of Stuart Fire/Rescue Department.

Lasaga said two juveniles were seen playing with fireworks at the point where the fire began.

“They have not been arrested but have been out into a program for juveniles who set fires,” he said. “They will learn about the dangers of fireworks, and their parents will be cautioned about allowing juveniles to use fireworks without supervision.”

The fire began at the base of a column of a building at 3740 S.W. Gatehouse Circle, according to fire department reports. It spread upward to the front upper level at 4:20 p.m. The fire was contained in the attic of the two-story building, but eight units were damaged either by smoke or the water used in combating the blaze.

Firefighters chopped holes in the roof and stairwell to reach the flames and allow heat to escape from the building, according to Battalion Chief Wade Mallard of Martin County Fire Rescue, which assisted the Stuart department in battling the blaze.

“We are not identifying the juveniles at this time,” Lasaga said.

Mary Sawyer, executive director of the Martin County Chapter of the American Red Cross, said her volunteers went to the fire to support the firefighters and to offer assistance to the displaced apartment dwellers. But none of the residents on the top floors were home at the time of the blaze, Sawyer said.

“They are just now coming in to seek aid,” Sawyer said, “so we don’t yet know how many people we will be assisting.”

By Joe Crankshaw

Tags: apartment, arrest, chief, communication, escape, fire, firefighter, firefighters, fires, fireworks, kids, parents, safety, Stuart, volunteer, volunteering, volunteers, water

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 at 9:15 am and is filed under Crime, Stuart. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.