Dowagiac Fire Department: Fire Caused By Child Playing With Lighter

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fire6464-16

No one is hurt after a house fire in Dowagiac on Monday that was started by a child playing with a lighter. The Dowagiac Fire Department says it was called to the fire at 318 East Division Street just before 4:20 p.m. Arriving firefighters found smoke coming from the upper floor and everyone out of the building. The Dowagiac Fire Department and Wayne Township Fire Department made quick work of the blaze, and it was extinguished after about eleven minutes. There was fire and smoke damage to the upper floor bedroom. Firefighters learned a small child had been upstairs playing with a lighter when a pile of clothing caught fire. The child ran downstairs and the owner of the home heard a smoke alarm, smelled smoke, and got everyone out. The fire department reminds everyone to keep matches and lighters out of the hands of children and to talk fire safety with them.