PITTSTON, PA — Investigators late Tuesday announced the arrest of three juveniles in connection with a fatal fire that killed an 11-year-old boy Tuesday morning in Pittston.
In a press release, police said the juveniles were taken into custody on Tuesday under the state’s Juvenile Act, indicating they will be charged in juvenile court.
The press release does not say what charges the minors will face, or what their ages are.
No details about what the minors allegedly did were released.
Since the minors are being charged as juveniles, investigators say they can’t release more information.
“Unfortunately, due to the Juvenile Act and Rule of Juvenile Court Procedure, law enforcement cannot give further comment at this time,” police wrote.
Five people escaped the raging fire that broke out overnight at 18 Wood St. in Pittston, but one child who was trapped inside died of his injuries.
County officials did not immediately release the 11-year-old boy’s name, saying they were still working to notify family members.
The Pittston Area School District on Tuesday night said the boy was a student at its Martin L. Mattei Middle School.
“We are saddened by the loss of our student and want to provide grief counselors to assist families, students and staff,” the district posted on its website.
Grief counselors from Children’s Service Center and the schools will be at the middle school today and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day.
The fire at 18 Wood St. was reported at 12:52 a.m. Tuesday, and six people were inside at the time, Pittston Fire Chief Jim Rooney said.
Three of them jumped from second-floor windows, while two were able to escape from the first floor, he said.
The 11-year-old boy, however, remained trapped upstairs. Rooney estimated it took crews five to 10 minutes to reach the child.
“The fire was impinging on the stairs, so we had to hit the fire in order to gain access to the stairway,” Rooney said.
Once they battled back the flames, firefighters were able to reach the boy, who was rushed to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Twp. The boy was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Neighbor Bill Price described the blaze as a “ball of fire” burning at the front of the home, and said the family’s daughter and her boyfriend were among those who escaped the smoke and fire by jumping out windows. They carried two small dogs with them, he said.
“They opened the bedroom door and they couldn’t even see the door across the hall. So they went out the second-floor window into the bush there,” said Price, who described the girl as sustaining a minor cut in the fall. “I’m sure they have very heavy hearts. That’s worse than a little cut on your leg.”
Once firefighters got the boy out of the house, crews from the city as well as Pittston Twp. and Avoca were able to focus on the heavy fire burning on the first floor, including on the porch and in the kitchen, Rooney said.
Firefighters had the blaze under control in about 40 minutes.
The cause of the fire was unknown. As of Tuesday afternoon, authorities still had Wood Street blocked by yellow crime scene tape.
A Pennsylvania State Police forensic services unit was assisting with the investigation.
Pittston Mayor Michael Lombardo called it “a sad day for the city.”
Lombardo noted the deadly blaze drew painful memories of when his brother, John, a Pittston firefighter, was killed while fighting a fire in the city in 1993.
“It personally hits home for me — having lost my brother,” Lombardo said. “It’s sad. You got an 11-year-old boy with his whole life ahead of him. I know what my parents went through after my brother died.”
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