1 home, 3 sheds burn down on Boise Bench - caused by kids playing with fire

One house and three sheds along the north side of the New York Canal at Hervey Street burned down in a swift-moving fire late Friday afternoon — but no one was injured in the fire, according to Boise Fire Battalion Chief Greg Ramey.

The fire was caused by children playing with fire, Boise Fire officials said via social media late Friday night.

The owner of the house that burned down told the Statesman he was napping inside the home when he heard screaming coming from outside.

“When I got up, I could smell smoke,” Selso Antunes said.

He looked out his kitchen window and saw his shed was on fire. He was able to move his truck out of the way before the fire overtook his house.

“I went back in twice,” said Antunes, who has lived in the house since 1988. The third time a firefighter stopped him from going back in the burning house.

Two neighbors told the Statesman they saw the fire burning in brush along the canal before it spread to the buildings. One said she saw children playing in the grass about 20 minutes before the fire.

Just after 5 p.m., firefighters were called to a report of a grass fire near Malad and Hervey streets on the Boise Bench, several blocks west of Vista Avenue. Responding firefighters called for more help when they saw the grass fire had spread to nearby structures.

Meridian Fire sent one brush rig to the scene and provided backup assistance. About 45 firefighting personnel were on scene at about 7 p.m., and some crews had already been released, Ramey said.

Boise Fire is asking people to avoid the area of Malad and Shoshone streets.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

This story was originally published September 14, 2018 at 5:44 PM.