STARKS — An 8-year-old boy called 911 on Saturday to say that his house was burning with his parents trapped inside it.

But it wasn’t true.

Firefighters from three towns went to the house on Anson Road, only to learn that the boy’s report was a hoax.

“There were a lot of upset people,” Madison Fire Chief Roger Lightbody said Monday.

The incident was turned over to state police and the boy was charged with making a false report, said state police Lt. Donald Pomelow.

After the boy called 911 at 4:03 p.m. Saturday, firefighters and ambulance crews from Starks, Anson and Madison responded. Under a mutual aid agreement, rescue workers from all three towns respond when a structure fire is reported in any of them.

The report that people were trapped in the burning home spurred rescue workers to respond quickly, said Starks Fire Chief Julie Costigan.

“I think we had a response time of 12 minutes, and we had multiple units on scene,” she said.

But when crews arrived, there were no flames.

Costigan was confused at first, but after she double-checked the address, she realized the call was a prank. Although he lives at the home, the boy dialed 911 from another location, and the only people at home were two children and a babysitter, according to Costigan.

Costigan said she has never been called out to such a hoax.

“It’s not a funny situation at all,” Lightbody said.

After a juvenile is charged, a hearing is often held with juvenile probation and parole, said Pomelow. The juvenile could be ordered to attend counseling, pay restitution or be disciplined otherwise, depending on the circumstances.