Boy, 11, charged in fire that burned home

An 11-year-old boy in Hicksville was arrested and charged with arson on Saturday after he sparked a small fire that soon engulfed a home, Nassau County police said.

The 1:40 p.m. fire on East John Street displaced 12 residents, police said. It took 150 firefighters from five fire departments to extinguish the blaze. It was not the boy's home, police said.

The boy was charged with fourth-degree arson, released to his mother and told to show up at Family Court in Westbury on June 17.

According to police, the boy used a Bic lighter to ignite plastic packing material. After he fled, the fire spread to the garage, which then spread to the home, police said.

Police did not say how they connected the boy to the arson or where he was caught.

Three firefighters sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene.