COLUMBUS – Two teenagers are facing charges of criminal damaging after they touched of a house fire on the South Side by throwing fireworks at the home’s front porch.
Police officers responded on a report of young adult men throwing fireworks at the house on Hanford Street and banging on the door at approximately 11:40 p.m. Sunday night, Division of Fire spokesman Battalion Chief Steve Martin said.
The officer in the first cruiser on the scene reported a fire on the front porch extending into the house and called for fire crews, who responded and put out the fire, Martin said.
The man who lived in the home says he had called for the police because two men, whose grandmother lives across the street, had been throwing fireworks at his house and banging on the door trying to get inside, Martin said.
After several minutes he heard the window break and noticed the curtains on fire. Martin says the man woke the other occupant and they evacuated the house.
Acting on the description of the men, police found Joseph Broyles, 18, (above left) and Antwan Householder, 19, (right) at a nearby home, Martin said.
The two were questioned at the division’s Fire and Explosives Investigations Unit and were charged with criminal damaging or endangering, a 1st degree misdemeanor, and Martin says they may be facing other charges as the investigation continues.
No one was injured from the fire and damages were estimated at approximately $1,000, said Martin.