D.C. Boy Playing with Lighter Critically Burned

A District of Columbia fire official says a 6-year-old boy was critically burned after he lit his clothes on fire while playing with a cigarette lighter.

Firefighters responded to an apartment fire in the 3400 block of 22nd Street in southeast Washington around 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

D.C. fire department spokesman Alan Etter says the boy suffered critical burns to half his body. He says the boy was taken to Children’s Hospital and will be transferred to Shriners Hospital in Boston for further treatment.

No word on who was home with the child at the time of the fire, but Etter says he doesn’t believe he was home alone. D.C. police are investigating.

Etter says the boy was playing with a conventional lighter, but there are childproof lighters available.