LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A teenager is facing an arson charge after setting a fire at the Jefferson Regional Juvenile Detention Center on La Grange Road.
According to Lyndon Chief of Police Grady Throneberry, officers were called to the center around 3:20 p.m. Saturday after a teenage girl -- already in custody for arson -- lit pillows, cushions and other items on fire using a disposable lighter. They said she started two separate fires in the building.
In a statement sent to WHAS11 News Monday afternoon, the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) said the 17-year-old snuck in the lighter herself, which she then used to set the fire in a garbage drum.
During the incident, Throneberry said some teens were let out of their rooms for safety. That's when a teenage boy escaped the facility, scaled a fence and ran off toward a neighborhood nearby. Lyndon PD officers detained him about a quarter-mile away and returned him to the center.
Throneberry said there was never any public danger.
"We'll have some incidents, but generally just a disturbance. The fire is something new for us," he said.
Significant damage was reported to the property including several broken windows. Originally covered with plywood, they've now been repaired.
There were 23 juveniles at the center at the time of the fire, according to the Chief, and three officers. He says he's told the overarching problem right now is worker vacancies.
"That appears to be their biggest challenge is recruiting enough staff," Throneberry said. "I don't know what the standard is, but it seems low to me considering the nature of the offenses that these juveniles are being housed for."
On Monday, a DJJ spokesperson told us out of 40 full and part-time positions at the Louisville facility, 18 are filled at this time -- a staff vacancy rate of 55 percent. She also said the center can house a maximum of 33 teens.
The teenage girl now has an additional charge of arson while the boy is now facing an escape charge.
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