BEATRICE – Beatrice Firefighters were sent to the scene of a reported house fire this morning at 3:54 a.m., on North 12th Street.  Three people, including two children were evacuated from the building after police officers arrived.

Police arrested an occupant of the home after she had extinguished the fire.

A Beatrice fire captain says a candle left burning in the kitchen caught some material on fire, and the flames did some damage to a cabinet.  There were no injuries.

Beatrice Police ended up arresting the adult occupant of the home, because she allegedly left two juveniles in the home, alone.  24-year-old Arvoni Johnson was detained on two counts of child abuse.  Police said she had left the children alone while she went to work, delivering newspapers.

Police say Johnson was able to put out the fire but there was a large amount of smoke inside the residence.  Police said she did not appear to be worried about the two children and made it appear she was not going to remove them, despite thick smoke in the air.

The east room of the home where the children were located shares a wall with the kitchen, where the fire occurred.

Asked whether there were any other adults present to care for the children, Johnson said no.  The children are about one and three years old.