Boy Playing With Matches Blamed for Calif. Fire
Source The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif.
An 8-year-old boy playing with matches sparked a fire Sunday afternoon that burned more than four acres of brush in southwest Santa Rosa.
The boy was using the matches in a vacant field near Primrose Avenue. When the fire started, he tried to put it out and then ran to his parents to report it, said Cyndi Foreman, fire prevention officer for Central Fire.
Foreman said she appreciated that the boy reported what happened rather than keeping silent and allowing the fire to grow.
The flames were reported at 4:09 p.m. and a Rincon Valley fire engine crew from the Todd Road station arrived first at 4:17 p.m., according to emergency dispatch records.
Warm afternoon winds fanned the flames, pushing it toward homes along Oasis Drive. Firefighters from several agencies responded and prevented the fire from expanding beyond the field where it started.
Foreman declined to identify the boy. She said his family was very cooperative and will attend a course through the fire department about fire danger.
It's the second time in just over a week that a Sonoma County child playing with matches started a fire.
On July 27, an 8-year-old Cotati girl set her dress on fire and suffered burns over about 20 percent of her body, fire officials said.
Information on her condition wasn't available Monday.
Copyright 2012 - The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
