Jena Koplin rummaged through the soggy contents of her purse, which was recovered from a bedroom of what's left of her charred 104-year-old Avenues home.

"It's a lot to absorb right now," the 50-year-old said, looking at the home she shared with her 71-year-old husband, Ronald, until three teens sparked the bushes outside the home about 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Flames spread to a nearby tree, which ignited the front porch and quickly spread throughout the home at 453 Sixth Ave., witnesses said.

"They don't make porches like that anymore," Jena Koplin said. "Hopefully, we'll be rebuilding or something. [But] it'll never be the same."

Authorities apprehended three teens, who later admitted to starting two fires, including the one that destroyed two homes, said Scott Freitag, a Salt Lake City fire spokesman.

"We believe that they intended to start the brush on fire," Freitag said. "We don't believe they intended it to go to the house."

The boys, two of whom are 13 and a 15-year-old, were released to their parents after being questioned by authorities.

Investigators will turn the case over to the District Attorney's Office, which will determine whether to file arson charges, Freitag said.

"It's sad," Koplin said of the teens. "Their lives won't ever be the same either."

Koplin and her husband, who uses a walker, were overpowered by the thick smoke, as they were evacuated by firefighters, Koplin said. They were taken to LDS Hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.

Because of prior health issues, Ronald Koplin will remain in the hospital for a few days, Koplin said.

About a half-block to the south, "Tree Bob" Brossard is still trying to process the aftermath of the second story of his home being destroyed.

Fire officials believe embers from the Koplin's home sparked a brush fire that consumed Bossard's home, which is located in a heavily wooded area in a block of houses between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and F and G Streets.

"I don't know if I'm OK yet. I'm still in a daze about it," he said, looking at his damaged home of 40 years. "I sat here on the swing with a friend last night, dozing off - sort of."

Barefooted and wearing a T-shirt and shorts, he grabbed his garden hose to battle the brush fire, which ultimately spread to the top floor of his home. "I couldn't get too close to it because I was barefoot," he said.

As family and friends of Bossard and Koplin began to sift through the charred remains of their homes, they are attempting to understand why a group of teens would start the blazes.

Rickie Mellen, 16, who witnessed the fires, said he knows the three teens suspected of sparking the fires. "They are not angels," Mellen said. "The thing that worries me, is that they were standing by my house before. I would never have pictured them doing something like this."

ngonzalez@sltrib.com