Four families were displaced from their apartments yesterday after two children playing with a lighter started an apartment building on fire, officials say.
The boys, ages 5 and 6, were in evergreen bushes playing with a lighter at about 2:30 p.m. when the bushes caught on fire and the blaze spread to the apartment building at 101 East 88th Ave., said Thornton Fire Marshall Chad McCollum.
The fire burned out windows and the interiors of two apartments on the second and third floor, McCollum said. Two other apartments were damaged by smoke and water, he said.
The American Red Cross paid for families to stay in hotels. Apartment workers were trying to quickly return families to two of the apartments.
Two of the apartments damaged by fire will take longer to repair, McCollum said.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
