A child learned the hard way — but fortunately not the tragic way — the dangerous consequences of playing with matches.
London firefighters responded to a call on Southdale Road yesterday that resulted in one woman being sent to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. The fire was confined to a second-floor bedroom, although there was heavy smoke damage to the entire second floor and minor damage to the main part of the house.
While investigating the origins of the fire, fire officials determined one of the three children in the house had lit a candle in the bedroom that had tipped over causing the carpet, and then the contents, to ignite. A book of matches was found next to the candle. The child’s mother attempted to put out the fire herself using a fire extinguisher.
Adding to the problems was the presence of only one smoke detector in the house, which also had low batteries and did not activate.
Total damages are estimated in the $50,000 range.
The fire department is cautioning parents to make sure matches and lighters, or any other fire-starting objects, are safely out of the reach of children. As well, they also remind people to make sure they have the proper number of fire alarms installed in their homes and that the batteries are changed at least twice a year.
