Staff writer Paul Nelson reports:
A child intentionally set fire to a box of pancake mix, starting a McClellan Street blaze that killed a 2-year-old sister and left another sister and a grandmother in critical condition, Schenectady officials said today.
The youngster, who was not identified by police, started the gas stove to make breakfast, but, for a reason not explained by authorities, placed the cardboard box over the flame and then carried the burning box into a bedroom.
The child then put the flaming box on a bed, dragged burning bedding into a corner of the room and left the house as the flames spread, Fire Chief Robert Farstad said.
The child is less than 13 and will not face a criminal charge because state law does not allow a child that young to face a felony or misdemeanor, Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett said.
Bennett said detectives do not believe the child planned to harm anyone. “The consequence, we believe, were not intended at all,” he said.
The blaze Wednesday morning that killed Sylvia Noxon began in a rear second-floor bedroom at 235 McClellan St.
The girl, her sister, Julia Sharkey, 4, and their grandmother, Sharlene Parker, 65, were trapped inside.