Witness: Gasoline Mistakenly Used In Hyannis Shed Fire That Killed Boy

HYANNIS (CBS) – One of the children who was inside a Hyannis shed when a fire ignited and killed an eight-year-old boy said the flames were caused when the boys lit a piece of paper on fire and mistakenly attempted to douse it with gasoline.

On Tuesday afternoon, Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe identified the victim of the fire as eight-year-old Savvas Yianasmidis.

WBZ-TV's Sera Congi spoke to another boy who was inside the shed on Monday afternoon playing with Yianasmidis and another friend.

The boy told Congi there was a dare for $100 to set a piece of paper on fire using a kitchen lighter.

When the paper caught fire, the children attempted to douse it with water, the witness said. But the liquid they poured on it turned out to be gasoline, which caused fire to spread rapidly.

As flames began to spread, the boy said the two others jumped over the fire to escape from the shed.

But according to the witness, Yianasmidis did not want to jump, and it was too hot inside for anyone to go back in and rescue him.

The boy said he has already been questioned by police, and planned to return to school on Tuesday.

O'Keefe confirmed that the investigation into the fire shows that gasoline for a lawnmower was stored in the shed, adding that at least one of the children was playing with a lighter while they were in the shed playing on a laptop computer.

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