Residents of a small town outside of Houston are reeling after learning a teenage girl was arrested for setting fire to the house of the superintendent of Splendora ISD while the top administrator and her family slept in the home.
Splendora fire officials say the fire began just before 1 a.m. on Sunday at Superintendent Genese Bell's home at Oaklawn Dr. and Enloe St.
Gasoline was poured throughout the home except in the two bedrooms where Bell, her husband and their daughter were sleeping, as KTRK Ch. 13 details in its full report.
Thankfully, the sound of the home's smoke alarm, as well as the family's dogs barking, alerted them to the blaze.
While trying to rescue her 13-year-old daughter from her bedroom, Bell was burned on her head and feet. The daughter was also injured during the fire and suffered minor burns. Bell and her daughter were taken to an area hospital for treatment and both are expected to fully recover.
Bell's husband, an assistant principal at Shepherd Middle School, left the burning home unscathed.
The New Caney Fire Department was able to get the blaze under control shortly after firefighters arrived at the scene.
The daughter told police she witnessed someone running out of the front of the house, but was unable to give a description of the person, according to KHOU Ch. 11.
A female teenage suspect was taken into custody later and arson and other charges are now pending. Investigators have determined the suspect acted alone in starting the house fire, although the motive remains unknown.
The room of Bell's daughter was one of the rooms damaged most significantly in Sunday's fire.
