2 Boys With Oil Seized After Fire at School

2 Boys With Oil Seized After Fire at School Debris Is Used In Blaze at 4th, Berkley Juvenile authorities today are questioning two boys, 9 and 11, who Tuesday set a fire in the rear of the Stevens School, 4th and Berkley sts. Detective Sgt. Frank Nelson identified the boys as Michael Bernado, 11, of 310 Cleveland terrace, and James McConnell, 9, of 406 S. 2nd st. They were taken into custody late Tuesday afternoon, Nelson said. Nelson assigned Detective Nicholas Pavlak to the case and the latter said the boys had a two-quart can of old motor oil and matches in their possession. Quizzed About Other Fires Pavlak and Walter Friedrichs, a fireman attached to the fire marshal's office, questioned the boys extensively about recent fires, particularly the fire at the Broadway School last February. They said they believed the boys had nothing to do with such fires. The two then were released in the custody of their parents. The Board of Education, Pavlak said, has been notified the locks on the rear door of the abandoned Stevens School were forced previously. The board, he continued, is being asked to do something about the situation so that youngsters can be kept out of the building. The chain of circumstances began when Joseph Noles, a special officer assigned to traffic duty to protect children at the Central School, was tipped off by two unidentified boys that a fire was started at the Stevens School. Other Boys Tell of Fire The boys told the special officer they had extinguished a fire in the rear of the Stevens School, a block north of the Central School. Noles said he went to the school (Continued on Page 3—Column 1) Boys (Continued From Page One) and there saw Bernado. He grabbed the boy and took him to Miss Mary Boland, principal of the Central School, where he attends classes. She called police, and questioning revealed the participation of the McConnell boy. The boy was then found in the building. Debris Oiled, Then Ignited Pavlak said his investigation revealed the Bernado and McConnell boys entered the schoolyard and after using straw and wood, debris from a packing box, poured the oil and lighted the pile. Pavlak said a rear entrance to the school building was forced, but it was not a fresh break and apparently had been made before Tuesday. Pavlak said he notified the city school authorities of the damage and requested they secure the building. Nelson said the boys and their parents will be questioned in juvenile bureau and the fire marshal and school authorities were notified. fied Nelson is head of the juvenile bureau.