Huntington Beach : Child, 2, Is Blamed in Apartment Blaze

A fire started by a 2-year-old child playing with a cigarette lighter destroyed a Huntington Beach apartment Monday, authorities said.

Cheri and Kenneth Townsend fled the apartment complex in the 5100 block of Heil Avenue with their three children and another child they were baby-sitting, according to Birgit Davis, public information officer for the Huntington Beach Fire Department.

Officials said the blaze erupted when one of the Townsend children was playing with a lighter.

The American Red Cross chapter in Orange County is providing vouchers for food and clothing to the family, which is staying with relatives, Red Cross spokeswoman Maggie Anderson said.

Davis said there were no injuries in the fire, which started in a bedroom at about 8:30 a.m. and caused an estimated $35,000 in damage.

Another unidentified family was evacuated from an apartment unit above, but that family was able to return after the two-alarm blaze was extinguished, fire officials said.