Teenager arrested on suspicion of deliberately starting house fire that killed his 10-year-old sister

A teenager in Georgia has been arrested for intentionally setting a fire that killed his 10-year-old sister, according to police.

The girl, Zoe McCue, died when the fire trapped her in her bedroom on Sunday, Fox5 reports.

Her brother, who has not been named, was taken into custody on Sunday night after police determined that the fire was lit intentionally.

No charges have been filed against the teen, though police are investigating the incident as a homicide.

Fire crews responded to the blaze, but the home was already engulfed by the time they arrived.

The girl's mother and two siblings managed to escape the fire, but told fire crews they believed the 10-year-old and her 15-year-old brother were still inside.

Gwinnett County fire spokesman Lieutenant Justin Wilson said that "multiple aggressive search attempts were executed to locate the missing children."

“After the fire was brought under control, a 10-year-old female victim was located deceased in room used as a bedroom without window access,” he said.

The fire crews also spent several hours searching the remains of the burnt home trying to find the 15-year-old boy. They later located him at a different site away from the home. He did not appear to be injured.

Two other family members who lived at the house – the father and another teenaged sibling – were at work when the fire broke out.

"I went over to her, and she told me I had to go home, there was a fire," William McCue, the family’s father, told Fox5. "I tried to get a hold of my wife, and she answered the phone and said 'Come home.'"

When he arrived at the house he found it had burned and suffered extensive fire damage.

He remembered his daughter as being bold and taking charge, even at a young age.

"She kind of like takes the lead and be in charge," he told the news station. "She's a handful of a 10-year-old and wants to be the boss of everybody. That's little Zoe."

The house reportedly did have fire alarms, but they did not trigger when the fire broke out.

“At this time, it has been determined the fire was set intentionally by a sibling of the deceased victim,” law enforcement said.

They said that the investigation was active and is being treated as a homicide. Police are working with arson investigators as they continue to examine the incident.

A GoFundMe was set up for the family to recover and to pay for Zoe's funeral expenses. Mr McCue said his family needs "prayers, love and support."

"We've got a wonderful community, and I thank God for the type of people who are out here," he said.