Metter police arrested two young boys Monday on arson and burglary charges in connection with a fire that damaged the home of the Boys & Girls Club of Candler County.

The juveniles, ages 10 and 11, have a "history of setting things on fire," said Meter Police Chief Mack Seckinger.
Police and the state fire marshal's office investigated the intentional fire that caused extensive smoke and heat damage Jan. 12 to a school that houses the Candler County Boys & Girls Club.

The blaze caused about $200,000 in smoke and heat damage to the gym at the old Metter Intermediate/Middle School building on West Vertia Street in Metter, said Glenn Allen, a spokesman for state Insurance and Fire Commissioner Ralph Hudgens.

The school building adjacent to the gym was also burglarized, Seckinger said. He didn't reveal a motive for the boys' actions, but said he didn't feel it had anything to do with the Boys & Girls Club program.

The boys were processed and turned back over to parents, and the case has been turned over to juvenile authorities, he said.