Teens Charged With Setting Fire That Killed 2 Firefighters

Veteran firefighters Lewis Mayo III and Kimberly Smith rushed into a fiery McDonald’s restaurant, hose in hand, to make sure no employees or others were in danger.

But it was they who were in peril early Monday, and three teenagers were charged Tuesday with murder for allegedly setting the blaze that killed the firefighters.

The restaurant’s 15-year-old assistant manager, who authorities say confessed and implicated the others, also was in custody.

Funeral services for Smith, 30, the department’s first woman killed in the line of duty, were pending her parents’ arrival from Fountain Valley, Calif. Services for Mayo, 44, who left behind a wife and three children, are set for Friday after a 10 a.m. memorial service for both at Rice Stadium, the city’s largest sports venue. “We questioned the employee, and ultimately that led to other suspects in the case,” Houston Police Capt. Richard Holland said. “Warrants were obtained for all the individuals involved, and they were subsequently arrested, questioned and then confessed their involvement.”

The first court appearance for the three older teenagers was set for 9 a.m. today.

Investigators said the roof of the restaurant collapsed, causing the firefighters to lose their bearings inside. They did not go into detail about how the fire started or whether they believe the blaze was set to cover a burglary.