PATERSON, N.J. -- Two schoolboys who have accused each other of putting a match to a vat of chemicals, touching off a blaze that ravaged an industrial section of Passaic, were probably both involved, a judge said Friday.
Passaic County Family Judge Carmen Ferrante ruled there is enough evidence against the two 12-year-olds from Passaic to bring them to trial in juvenile court.
He released the boys to their parents on home detention, pending a trial next month on delinquency charges based on accusations of arson, criminal mischief and causing widespread damage and injury.
The Labor Day fire in downtown Passaic, within blocks of both boys' home, caused about $400 million damage, shutting down about 60 businesses and leaving dozens of families homeless. A volunteer firefighter suffered a fatal heart attack.
Ferrante, after a hearing in which neither boy testified, ruled two Passaic detectives who questioned the youths gathered 'sufficient evidence (that) both individuals put lighted matches to the chemical' that set off the blaze.
'They intended to burn something by putting a match to that substance,' he said.
He released the pair, not identified because of their age, because neither has a prior record and both are too young to be transferred to adult court.
Under the terms of their release, the boys may attend school, but must return home immediately afterwards and not leave the house unless accompanied by an adult.
Passaic Detective Vincent Markowski testified Friday each boy accused the other of lighting the match that touched off the conflagration.
He said the fire apparently started in an alleyway in one of 35 vats used to store a flammable chemical called naftelene, used in moth balls and toilet deodorizers.
Markowski said the two were among a group of four boys seen running toward the Gera Mill complex about 2:30 p.m. Monday, the time the fire broke out.
The two other youths, both older, have been questioned by police as material witnesses, but have not been charged. One of them told Markowski that one of the boys 'struck a match and placed it on the stuff.'
Markowski said the burning Naftelene created a 'blow-torch effect,' spreading the fire rapidly.
First Assistant Passaic County Prosecutor Martin Kayne said investigators are still trying to determine whether the firefighter from Secaucus died while actually fighting the fire.
He said if the fireman died while battling the blaze, the boys may face charges in his death.
The ruins of the factory complex along the Passaic River continued to smoke and smolder Friday.
