Hempstead boy, 12, charged in garage fire, police say

A 12-year-old boy was charged with arson after he set a detached garage on fire in Hempstead using a plumber’s torch, Nassau County police said.

The boy, whose name was not released because of his age, has been charged with fourth-degree arson as a juvenile by arson-bomb squad detectives in the blaze that started about 5 p.m. Friday inside a rear yard on Union Place, police said in news release.

The Hempstead Fire Department responded to the scene and put out the flames on the “fully engulfed garage,” the release states.

No injuries were reported.

A police spokeswoman said the boy did not live at the location, but did not release any other details about where the boy lives or how he obtained the torch.