Infant Dies in Accidental Fire Set by a Child : Tragedy: The 11-month-old had been placed in her aunt’s care less than a week earlier by child welfare officials.

An 11-month-old girl was fatally injured Sunday night--less than a week after child welfare officials placed her in an aunt’s care--when a fire swept through the aunt’s home.

Fire investigators said the blaze was apparently set accidentally about 11:30 p.m. when one of five children living at the house ignited a bunk bed with a cigarette lighter. It quickly engulfed the house.

The aunt, Anna Alvarez, and another woman who was living in the house were both injured getting four children out of the house, but were unable to rescue the baby, Rebecca Clark, fire investigators said.

Firefighters later broke through a back window and pulled the girl out. By then, she was in full cardiac arrest and had second- and third-degree burns over as much as 90% of her body, said Fire Capt. Dirk Wegner. She was pronounced dead about 40 minutes later at Palmdale Hospital Medical Center.

Alvarez--who has been renting the house in the 38900 block of 2nd Street East for about a year--said Rebecca was the daughter of her younger sister, Robin Clark.

Alvarez, 29, who is not a licensed foster-care provider, said she was given temporary custody of Clark’s three children by county officials on April 11 after her sister was unable to explain how her infant daughter’s skull was fractured.

Clark had lived in her sister’s Palmdale house with her three children until last week, when she moved to Pacoima, Alvarez said.

Officials of the Los Angeles County Department of Children’s Services confirmed that Rebecca and two brothers, age 2 and 3, were removed from their mother’s custody April 11, but declined to give the reason, citing confidentiality laws.

Schuyler Sprowles, public information director for Children’s Services, said it is often thought best for abused or neglected children to be placed with relatives, even if they are not licensed as foster-care providers.

“The advantage is they have a bond with the family and familiarity with extended family,” he said.

In the past, child advocates have criticized the county agency and federal bureaucracies for putting obstacles in the way of those who want to take custody of neglected or abused relatives rather than have them placed with strangers.

Sprowles said, however, that placement of abused and neglected children with relatives has become increasingly common.

Of approximately 38,000 children currently placed outside their homes by Children’s Services, 20,000 are living with relatives who are not licensed foster-care providers, Sprowles said.

On Monday, county caseworkers picked up Clark’s two boys from a neighbor’s house where Alvarez is staying with her 3-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter.

Alvarez said she hopes to regain custody of her sister’s children. Sprowles said a hearing will be scheduled to decide.

Alvarez said the surviving children are well, just “shaken up.” She said she aggravated a back injury trying to get the children out of the house. Her roommate, Stella Inez, who returned from a trip to the store to find the house in flames, suffered second-degree burns to her shoulders and fractured her right wrist.

One firefighter suffered second-degree burns.

It is unknown how the children got the cigarette lighter or which child actually set the bed ablaze, said Deputy Dan Watters of the sheriff’s arson detail.

Doug Smith is a Times staff writer and Sharon Moeser is a correspondent.