Prosecutor: Child had lighter at deadly shed fire

State fire Marshal Stephen Coan called the blaze a horrific and tragic accident; it remains under investigation

September 24, 2014 01:41 AM

Authorities say a young boy has died in a fast-moving fire in a small storage shed where neighbors said children were playing behind a house on Cape Cod.

The Associated Press

HYANNIS, Mass. — Authorities investigating a fire that killed an 8-year-old Massachusetts boy say a child was playing with a lighter inside a shed that apparently contained gasoline for a lawnmower.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe on Tuesday identified the victim of the Hyannis fire as Savvas Yianasmidis.

O’Keefe says Savvas was in the shed playing on a laptop with two friends, both age 8. He says one of the boys was playing with a lighter.

Authorities received a call at about 5:30 p.m. Monday. Neighbors tried using a garden hose to extinguish the fire. By the time firefighters arrived, the 8-foot-by-12-foot shed was engulfed in flames.

State fire Marshal Stephen Coan called the blaze a horrific and tragic accident. It remains under investigation.