UPDATE: Kingston Police announced the arrest of Matusalem Tiul-Cac, 39 in connection with this fire. Tiul-Cac is accused of illegally purchasing fireworks and giving them to his 12-year-old son, a misdemeanor. Police say the child set fire to the 176 Elmendorf Street home when he lit the fireworks under adult supervision.
Illegal fireworks caused a structure fire on Elmendorf Street, according to the Kingston Fire Department.
On Tuesday, July 1 at approximately 9:49pm, firefighters were dispatched within minutes to the scene where crews were met with smoke emitting from an attic and frantic residents trying to put out the fire themselves.
First responders immediately got to work evacuating the building and extinguished the fire with haste, containing it to one area of the attic. The whole operation took less than an hour.
Two residents were treated for smoke inhalation on scene.
Firefighters said “improper use of illegal fireworks” was the culprit, and urged the public to refrain from launching them. The Kingston Police Department recently alerted the public to an illegal fireworks crackdown as Independence Day approaches.
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