East Lubbock House Fire Sparked By Toddler

"A child was playing with a lighter and the fire got away from him," said Assistant Fire Marshall Elliot Eldredge.

Eldredge says Tuesday morning's fire was started when the homeowner's three-year-old son was pretending to cook with a real lighter.

"The last victim that got out described it as he barely did get out because of how thick the smoke was," said Eldredge.

The child that started the fire also saved the family by alerting his mom to the growing fire.

"The daughter was awake, the child came into the room after the fire was started and that alerted her to it and then she woke up the grand-dad and got him out," said Eldredge.

The Lubbock Red Cross was on the scene to help the family figure out what is next, just two days before Thanksgiving.

"Unfortunately disasters are the great equalizer. They don't care who you are or what time of year it is. It is unfortunate that Thanksgiving is right around the corner. That is going to make it particularly difficult for them this year, but fortunately they do have friends and family they can lean on during this time and that may help a little bit," said Red Cross volunteer Bill Curnow.

Eldredge says none of the smoke detectors were working, something especially dangerous during the holiday season.

"That kind of reminds us to be sure to check them especially now around the holidays with all the cooking going on make sure they are working. You know everybody is at home, family over and if the smoke detectors are not working than we are setting ourselves up for disaster," said Eldredge.