A huge fire that engulfed an Oceanside house started as the teenage girl living there played with a lighter, investigators say.
Oceanside fire officials say the flames started in the 1200 block of Holly Street at 6 p.m. According to fire investigators, the girl was playing with a lighter in her bedroom when she lit a piece of paper on fire and dropped it.
The fire quickly caught on curtains and other parts of her room. The girl ran outside and told the man living there that her room was on fire. He tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher but had to escape when the heat became too intense.
When firefighters arrived, they started their attack of the fire from inside, but thick, black smoke forced them to move to the roof to let some of the heat and smoke escape. After cutting three vents, they extinguished the fire within half an hour while protecting the home nearby.
No one was found inside. The three people who live there, two adults and a teenage girl, were able to get out without any injuries.
The woman was asleep when the fire started, but she refused treatment at the scene. Family later took her to the hospital for a "medical condition," fire officials say.
Only the garage and a bedroom escaped damage. The rest of the house was destroyed or damaged by heavy smoke. The American Red Cross was called in to help the displaced trio.
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Investigators say the fire caused $200,000 in damage to the structure with $75,000 in additional damage to the contents inside. They estimate they prevented another $35,000 in damage by saving the garage and a bedroom.
