Child playing with lighter ignites fire, killing self and mother

NFPA Journal, May/Jun 2002 by Tremblay, Kenneth J

ALABAMA

A 25-year-old woman and her 3-year-old son died in a fire the boy started as he played with a lighter while his mother slept. The boy hid after starting the fire without waking her up.

The single-story, wood-frame, single-family house, which was 50 feet (15 meters) long and 30 feet (3 meters) wide, had a brick veneer in front and an asphalt-- shingled roof.

The little boy apparently ignited his mattress and bed linens with the lighter, then became scared by what he'd done and ran to the living room, where he covered himself with a blanket. His mother was asleep in a rear bedroom.

A neighbor called 911 at 8:00 p.m. when they saw smoke coming from the house. Police officers and firefighters, who arrived within two minutes of the call, controlled the fire within five minutes and shortly thereafter found the mother and child. They were taken to the hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

The boy's father said he had recently reprimanded the child for playing with a lighter and that he stored the lighters in a kitchen drawer.

The house, valued at $60,000, sustained $10,000 in damages. Contents, valued at $25,000, sustained losses of $10,000.