PHILLIPS – Police have arrested three juveniles today, after they allegedly confessed to breaking into the old school building on Russell Street in Phillips and starting a small fire.
Franklin County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Sandy Burke responded on Feb. 20 to the building that formerly housed Phillips Primary School after a burglary was reported.
Burke investigated the incident, which reportedly involved an attempt to start a fire with lighter fluid and matches as well as some relatively minor damage to a window and some light bulbs. Due to the location of the fire it did not spread and soon self-extinguished. No one else was inside the building at the time of the fire.
People in the area alerted Burke to the possible identity of the three juveniles, two of which, a male and a female, lived in Phillips. The third suspect, another male juvenile, resides in Strong. On Tuesday, Burke and Det. David St. Laurent interviewed the suspects, at which point they allegedly confessed to breaking into the building and starting the fire.
According to Lt. Niles Yeaton, the department due not currently believe that the three juveniles attempted to cause any major damage with the fire.
“I don’t think their intent was to burn the building down or anything,” Yeaton said, although he noted that the very act of igniting the lighter fluid with a match could technically meet the legal definition of arson.
Yeaton did not have an estimation for damage to the building, but he believed it was relatively minor in nature. The town of Phillips has voted to eventually turn the old school into a new town office.
The charges juveniles will face will be determined by the District Attorney’s Office and juvenile intake authorities.
Burke was assisted on scene by Cpl. Nathan Bean and State Fire Marshal’s Office Investigator Edward Hastings.
