Boy, 4, Critically Burned in Apartment

A 4-year-old Panorama City boy was critically burned Thursday and three other people, including a toddler, were also injured in an apartment fire caused by children playing with matches, firefighters said.

Damon Thomas was airlifted to Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Pat Marek.

A 13-month-old child who suffered minor burns and a man and a woman who suffered from minor smoke inhalation were treated at other hospitals, Marek said.

The blaze began about 1:30 p.m. in a first-floor apartment of the three-story, 143-unit building in the 7900 block of Woodman Avenue near Strathern Street, Marek said. The fire was extinguished in about 15 minutes.

Damage was estimated at $20,000 to the building and $10,000 to contents, Marek said.