PITTSFIELD -- An old, abandoned building accidentally burned to the ground this afternoon after two teenagers who were skipping school discarded a cigarette inside of it, police said.

The 14-year-olds from Pittsfield were quickly nabbed by police and charged as juveniles with arson and released into the custody of their parents, said Police Chief Stephen Emery. The teenagers are freshman students at Maine Central Institute, Pittsfield's high school, he said.

The abandoned building, on 195 Library Street, was engulfed in flames by the time police and firefighters arrived on scene. The flames melted the siding of an adjacent house, Emery said. No one was hurt.