Warning after child sets fire to a Bradford house with a cigarette lighter

Fire crews gave first aid to a child as well as tackling a house fire in Bradford.

A neighbour and fire-fighters had to give emergency first aid at the scene after one of six children in the house at the time the fire broke out was pulled from the property unresponsive.

Control room staff gave advice over the phone to the member of the public on how to help the youngster breathe until fire crews arrived who then worked on the child for a further 15 minutes.

Now as the child is confirmed to be in a stable condition - West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue has given a warning on the dangers of children playing with lighters or matches.

They were called at 8:57pm last night (Tuesday) to the house fire in Cutler Heights, Bradford. The family of seven who lived in the property were all awake when one of the children accidentally set fire to the bedroom whilst playing with a lighter they had found.

The mother and neighbours were alerted to the danger on hearing the smoke alarms sounding and after seeing smoke pouring out the roof they dialled 999.

Crews from Stanningley, Shipley and Fairweather Green rushed to the scene.

One woman and six children were all out of the house on the arrival of fire crews. However, whilst crews were en route to the incident a call came in to Control stating one of the children had been brought out of the property unresponsive.

A spokespersonn tonight confirmed: "The resuscitated child is now in a stable condition."

The fire which was largely confined to the main bedroom of the house. Four breathing apparatus wearers used two hose reels to extinguish the fire before fully searching the house. The first floor of the property was around 20 per cent damaged.

Area Manager Nick Smith said:” We know that fire can be fascinating for children; this is why it is important to keep any matches, lighters, and other fire-starting tools out of sight and to also to educate them of the dangers.

“The school summer holidays have just started and kids will be looking to entertain themselves at home and we know parents don’t have eyes in the back of their heads; however, this might be a time to check how safe your home is and to remove any obvious dangers. We want everyone to have a safe summer and avoid any accidents.

“I would like to offer my best wishes to the child and the family; they had a lucky escape from what could’ve been a serious fire. Thankfully the home had a working smoke alarm and if it wasn’t for the quick actions of the family and neighbours the outcome could have been much worse.”