Woman hospitalized after girl playing with lighter sets Cedar Rapids house fire

A child's curiosity set her basement ablaze, sending her mother to the hospital.

Laurie Smith, 35, is being treated for possible smoke inhalation after her 7-year-old daughter started a fire in her basement while playing with a lighter, according to the Cedar Rapids Fire Department.

At 8:51 p.m. Tuesday, firefighters responded to the fire at 1658 32nd St.  NE, where smoke was wafting from a side door.  Inside the crew saw smoldering stairs and combustibles in the basement, along with several inches of water that had spewed from a broken pipe.

The damage was contained to the basement, and all four occupants escaped, including Smith, the 7-year old and two other children, ages 9 and 17.

The family cannot return to the house for a few days, and the American Red Cross has been dispatched, said fire department spokesman Greg Buelow.

Buelow said that the incident provides a lesson in fire safety.

“Lighters and matches are tools, not toys,” he said. “The best thing you can do is teach children not to handle lighters or matches.”