Child Playing With Matches Sets Bed on Fire

Fire officials say that a four-year-old boy playing with matches started a fire in his family's apartment in Salisbury, Md. early Saturday morning.

Maryland's Office of the State Fire Marshall confirmed that the fire broke out in the boy's bedroom shortly before 8:30 a.m. at 210 Winterborn Lane. When firefighters arrived at the two-story, five-unit apartment building, they found that a sprinkler in the child's bedroom had already extinguished the blaze. Authorities said that the boy's parents were able to escape the building after hearing the smoke alarms and notified the other tenants.

Investigators credit the working smoke alarms and sprinkler with both keeping damage to a minimum and ensuring that no one was injured. Damage is estimated at $4,000.