Authorities arrested two 13-year-old boys in connection with a deadly Central California fire that killed two firefighters in the city of Porterville.
More than 50 firefighters worked on the fire at the Porterville Public Library that killed fire Capt. Raymond Figueroa, 35, and firefighter Patrick Jones, 25, who initially had been counted as missing. Jones reportedly lost contact with the rest of the firefighters as he was inside the building, news reports state
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The fire, visible from miles away, started about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, in the children’s section of the library. The fire consumed the building’s roof, eventually collapsing it and destroying the library that housed 77,000 books.
The fire went to three alarms and involved numerous agencies, including the California Department of Forestry, Bakersfield Fire Department and the Fresno County Fire Department. By Wednesday, the fire still smoldered. Fire personnel remained on scene all night Tuesday and into Wednesday.
Witnesses allegedly saw the teens running from the library at the time of the fire, and authorities located the teens Tuesday night. Police arrested and booked the Porterville boys into the Tulare County Juvenile Detention Facility on suspicion of arson, manslaughter and conspiracy.
The library is just feet from the fire department in downtown Porterville. The historical building, built in 1953, didn’t have a sprinkler system, according to news reports.
Meanwhile, the locals are mourning the loss of two of their own. Figueroa had been with the city since 2007, and Jones since 2017. Authorities will not be releasing the name of the suspects because they are juveniles.