HERMON, Maine — One of three children left alone in a mobile home was using the kitchen stove and accidentally ignited a pizza box, causing the fire that claimed the life of a 9-year-old boy, according to the state fire marshal’s office.
“They were cooking something else, and the pizza box was in close proximity and caught fire,” Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said Tuesday.
The July 7 fire broke out at about 7:15 a.m., and the body of Wyatt Parker II of Carmel was found by firemen in the living room of the 292 Wing Road residence. He had spent the night with his two cousins, Ashlyn Parker, 10, and John Parker, 8.
The identity of the child who was using the stove was not released. It was a gas stove, Sgt. Tim York of the fire marshal’s office said.
“There is no reason to compound their pain,” McCausland said.
John Parker managed to escape the residence and flag down passing motorists, who called 911, and Ashlyn Parker was rescued from a bedroom by firefighters.
“The fire has been ruled accidental,” McCausland said in a news release. “Although fire marshal investigators could not find a working smoke detector, the 10-year-old girl who survived the fire said she heard one. The girl was treated for smoke inhalation and has now been released from the hospital” and was reunited with her parents.
The homeowners, John Parker and Lacey Reidy, had left the children alone that morning after they got up to go run errands. McCausland would not comment on the nature of the errands.
According to his obituary, Wyatt Parker’s parents are Wyatt and Christy Parker of Levant. He is survived by two brothers and two sisters.
He recently completed the fourth grade at Carmel Elementary School and would have entered fifth grade this fall at Caravel Middle School in Carmel.
“Fire marshals say because of the death, their investigative report will be submitted to the district attorney’s office for review, once it is completed,” McCausland said.