2 Get Probation in Fatal Mass. Warehouse Blaze

WORCESTER, Mass. —  A formerly homeless couple who accidentally started a warehouse blaze that killed six firefighters will serve no jail time under an agreement reached Thursday.

Thomas Levesque, 39, and Julie King, 22, were sentenced to five years of probation on involuntary manslaughter charges. The couple maintained their innocence. If they stay out of trouble during that time, the charges will be dropped from their record.

“They’re marginally retarded, which would make it just about impossible to try the case,” Dist. Atty. John Conte said.

King and Levesque started the December 1999 fire when they knocked over a candle while fighting in the abandoned warehouse where they were living, authorities said. The couple allegedly tried to put out the fire before fleeing the building without reporting it.

The firefighters died as they searched the building for homeless they thought were trapped.

The charges against the couple were initially dismissed for lack of evidence, but in March the state’s highest court reinstated the case, saying there was evidence that the couple’s failure to report the fire “was intentional and reckless.”