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Toddler Injured in Blaze at Home: Child Playing With Lighter Causes Fire at Apartment; 2-Year-Old Critically Hurt

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 June 2006, 09:00 CDT

By Beth Rankin, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

Jun. 14--A 2-year-old is in critical condition in an Akron hospital after an apartment complex caught fire in Kent because of a child playing with a lighter.

The Kent Fire Department arrived at the Hill Crest Apartment Complex at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday to find two adults and an 8-year-old child outside of the burning apartment while the 2-year-old was trapped inside.

All four were taken to Akron Children's Hospital with smoke inhalation and burns.

The 2-year-old was in critical condition Tuesday and one of the adults was in good condition.

Other apartments in the complex suffered smoke damage, but residents were allowed to return to their apartments Tuesday evening, said Summit County Red Cross spokesperson Jackie Zavodney.

The Red Cross set up a temporary shelter at its Portage County branch for those displaced.

"We're going to continue to assist with anybody's emergency needs that may arise from this," Zavodney said.

This is the third Akron-area fire in a month caused by children playing with lighters.

A fire June 4 destroyed a bedroom at a Storer Avenue home. And May 28, a 5-year-old Wooster girl was seriously injured while playing with a lighter in a bedroom.

Beth Rankin can be reached at 330-996-3136 or brankin@thebeaconjournal.com.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio)

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