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Three Berkeley youths, the youngest a 6-year-old, have been criminally charged with setting the blaze that nearly destroyed a vacant home at 2050 Lincoln St. on Feb. 17. 

Berkeley police spokesperson Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said the fire was reported by a 911 call at 2:25 p.m. that day. When police and firefighters arrived, they found flames and smoke pouring from the small dwelling. 

A bystander told a police officer about hearing two boys and a girl talking about starting the fire, and the trio was quick detained and taken to the Public Safety Building for questioning. 

The 6-year-old said she was a student at Rosa Parks Elementary School. The 11-year-old attended sixth grade at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School and the third, age 12, was a seventh-grader at Willard Middle School. 

“All three openly spoke with officers,” said Kusmiss, and the following story emerged: 

The three said they had been using the vacant house as “our little clubhouse,” and had played there three times before. The youngsters said they had found cigarette lighters and matches there, which they used to light three candles which they said they had also found in the dwelling. 

“One of the boys said he was holding a candle, and it dropped on a piece of cardboard on the floor, which caught fire,” said Sgt. Kusmiss. “They said it was the first time they had lit anything.” 

As the flames grew, the children said they added to the flames by tossing on what they called “creepy faces that someone drew.” 

One of the boys said he tried to put out the fire, but failed. 

The trio was held on suspicion of violating section 452 of the California Penal Code, “wrongfully or recklessly starting a fire,” said Sgt. Kusmiss. The charge is a lesser offense than arson. 

“The fire chief explained to the Berkeley police officers that, based on the circumstances, the fire department planned to have the children attend a safety course about the dangers of playing with matches,” she said. 

Deputy Fire Chief Gil Dong said the three won’t be formally charged with the crime. “They will go through our juvenile fire-setter program, where they will be shown films about what can happen when they start a fire, and they’ll be evaluated to make sure there are no social or psychological problems. 

“The parents were advised there would be a mandatory meeting with the department,” he said. 

The three were then released to the custody of their parents. 

Deputy Chief Dong said the fire caused an estimated $25,000 in damage. The costs don’t include the value of the structure itself, which had already been targeted for demolition. The value was based on the cost of a demolition permit and for the paint damage to the adjacent row of apartments over commercial buildings on Shattuck Avenue.