Brunswick and Glynn County public
safety officials are reminding parents to warn their children about the hazards
of playing with matches and cigarette lighters.
Not only do they risk sustaining
serious injury to themselves, but they also put others and property at risk.
Firefighters say two fires started by
juveniles recently are a stark reminder why children and incendiary objects
don’t mix.
“Kids do not need to be playing with
a lighter or matches that might light material on fire,” said Capt. Jerome
Johnson of the Glynn County Fire Department. “They can get burned, and they can
cause things to be burned.
“Matches and lighters need to be kept
away from all children, even teenagers.”
One fire burned an abandoned mobile
home at 1 Shady Lane, Glynn County, May 25, causing $5,000 in damages.
Police suspect a 14-year-old set the
fire by accident. He told police that he “may have dropped a lighter at the back
-door of the residence that had burned,” but that he was “not sure,” according
to the police report.
Another fire occurred May 26 at 2218
Ellis St., Brunswick. The fire was allegedly started by a boy and a girl, both
9-years- old, who were playing with a lighter in the alley behind the building,
according to police.
The juveniles tried to extinguish the
fire, but couldn’t and left the area, according to the police report.
The report does not indicate how much
damage was caused or whether Juvenile Court citations were issued.
