Patterson Family Dollar sustains major damage in fire

A 12-year-old boy has been charged with aggravated arson after starting a fire Monday at Family Dollar store on Catherine Street in Patterson, causing major damage to the store, said Brant Thompson, chief deputy with the state fire marshal’s office.

No one was injured in the fire, Thompson said. The fire started Monday afternoon and caused “significant damage throughout” the store, including smoke, soot, fire and water damage, he said.

The juvenile suspect was uncooperative with authorities, and no possible motive has been discovered yet, Thompson said.

Investigators do know that the suspect “introduced an open flame to ordinary combustibles” on one of the aisles inside the store, Thompson said.

Firefighters with the Patterson, Bayou Vista, Berwick and Morgan City fire departments responded to the fire with a total of 56 personnel, Patterson Fire Chief Scott Domingue said. Firefighters received the call at 1:08 p.m. Monday reporting the fire. On arrival, the fire was fully involved and had gotten into the HVAC system at the store, Domingue said.

Officials had the fire under control within about an hour and cleared the scene by 4:30 p.m. Monday, Domingue said.

Firefighters also responded to a fire at about 6 p.m. Monday near Patterson in an unincorporated area after a firework came down onto a cane field and lit the field on fire, Domingue said. Civilians tried to extinguish the fire but it wouldn't go out, the chief said. The fire department responded and put out the fire. There was no structural damage or injuries, he said. One or two acres of the cane field were burned during the fire, Domingue said.