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Boy, 4, might have started deadly fire

By Times Staff
Published November 30, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - A fire that killed a 2-year-old boy Sunday morning might have been started by his 4-year-old brother, fire officials said.

The fire started in the bedroom of a duplex at 727 36th Ave. S while the boys' mother, Lesley Gray, 25, slept on a couch in the living room. She told authorities her 4-year-old, Jeremy, came out screaming.

Gray ran in to retrieve her 2-year-old, Bradley, but the flames burned her, and she could not get to him. Other family members escaped to the front lawn but the 2-year-old died before firefighters could get him out.

Jeremy told fire investigators there was a lighter in the bedroom but he did not admit to playing with it, said Lt. Rick Feinberg of St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue. Fire officials have ruled out all other causes except the boy playing with a lighter, he said.

The fire started between the boys' bunk bed and their mother's bed, he said. The duplex did not have a smoke alarm.

Gray was taken to Tampa General Hospital with burns. She was in critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit Tuesday.

Jeremy will not be charged with anything because he is too young.

"At this point it's a very tragic event, but it's not something he can be criminally prosecuted for," Feinberg said. "He's too young to even put in our juvenile fire starter program at 4 (years old). He can't comprehend right from wrong at this point."

[Last modified November 30, 2005, 02:15:38]