Lafayette House Fire Blamed on Child Playing with Lighter

Investigators with the Lafayette Fire Department believe a Tuesday morning blaze on Clement Street was caused by an unsupervised child playing with a lighter inside the home. Fire crews were called to the scene of the blaze about 10 am Tuesday. Upon their arrival, they discovered heavy smoke billowing out of the single-family dwelling.

At first, fire crews could not locate the occupants of the dwelling so crews entered the structure to begin a search. The two occupants of the dwelling were safely located in the backyard of the home.

Firefighters battled the blaze for about 15 minutes to bring it under control. Once the flames were out an inspection of the structure revealed heavy fire and smoke damage but no injuries, either to the occupants or firefighters, were reported. The cause of the blaze was ruled an accident by fire investigators on the scene.