The parents are standing up for their children. The investigation does state that the fire started in the kitchen but the article also stated that the other children were sleeping so I'm pretty sure it wasn't one of the other 4 girls and no one has said it was the 12 year old either. Your jumping to all kinds of conclusions before all of the facts are out. I haven't walked  in these parents shoes so I can't tell you what I would of done in this situation. Would I allow my 12 year old to cook while I wasn't home you asked? There is nothing saying she was cooking. You should probably wait until all the facts are out before you go pointing fingers.  What your children do at what ever age they are depends on their maturity. Some mature faster than others and then some never grow up. I'm going to take a WAG here and think that maybe the 12 year old was very mature for her age from the sounds of what her parents have had to go through.