The fire broke out at a home on Kelling at West Orem just before 2pm. As smoke poured from the roof of the home, the mother escaped and her son locked himself inside a room.
When the fire started, Theresa Walker says she was in the kitchen.
She said, "My son -- I was in there cooking and he was asking to light the fire. It happened by accident."
Walker ran out, but her 10-year-old son was still inside. Before fire crews arrived, a neighbor tried to find the boy, but the smoke was too much. Firefighters pulled the child from inside a locked bathroom, unconscious.
Neighbor Pete Morales said, "He thought he'd get in trouble because he caused the fire, so he went into the restroom."
CPR revived the boy. He is now at Memorial Hermann Hospital.
"Critical condition," said John Douglas with the Houston Fire Department. "He didn't have a pulse when he was removed. EMS was able to get his pulse back en route to the hospital."
It's a terrible day for a family and for the people who've known them for years.
"Really sad when stuff like this happens, when you know these people for a long time," said neighbor Mary Alanez.
Fire crews are trying to remove from the home any of the family's belongings that can be salvaged.
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