PITTSBURG (KRON) — A young child playing with matches may be started a fire in a Pittsburg house Tuesday evening.
Around 6:20 p.m., firefighters were called to the 2200 block of Woodhill Drive where a small fire had broken out at a single-family house.
Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Capt. George Laing said that crews arrived to find heavy smoke and fire coming from the second floor of the two-story home. It took firefighters about 40 minutes to get the fire out.
Four children and their mother were at home when the fire started. They were all able to make it out safely.
Laing said it appears one of the children was playing with matches on the second floor and sparked the blaze.
There was a working smoke alarm on the second floor, but the one on the first floor had been removed.
The alarm on the second floor alerted one of the children, who woke up the mother, and she was able to grab the other kids and safely leave the house, Laing said.
The fire spread throughout the second floor and Laing said smoke and water damaged the first floor. He estimated the damage to be at least $60,000 or more for the structure of the home and its contents.