House fire blamed on boy playing with cigarette lighter

HOUSTON A one-year-old and a four-year-old were transported to a local hospital with burn injuries. A parent and another relative were at the home on Otterbury at the time of the fire, but were not injured. Westfield Fire Department extinguished the fire and damage was confined to the house only.

Investigators from the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office have conducted an investigation into the cause of this fire and determined that the four-year old boy was playing with a cigarette lighter in the bedroom.

"I have taken lighters away from him in the past," stated Alicia Olivo, the mother of the two children.

Deputy Chief Callihan, with the Fire Marshal's Office said, "This is a tragedy we see all too often."

The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office will follow this investigation with education of the parents and children involved through the Harris County Juvenile Fire Stoppers Program.