Child Uses Cigarette Lighter To Start House Fire

A fire that damaged part of a home west of Canton was allegedly started by a five-year-old child, according to Cherokee County fire officials.

A portion of a home on 304 Blake Drive near Canton, located in the Copper Hills subdivision, received smoke, water and fire damage in an incident that started in the child's bedroom. 

According to a press release from the Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services, the agency and the Canton Fire Department responded to the fire at te home, which is located off Highway 20/Knox Bridge Highway, shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday. 

When first responders arrived on the scene, they found heavy smoke coming from a two-story wooden and stone structure. 

Preliminary reports show the fire started in a bedroom on the first story on the home.

According to Cherokee County Fire Investigator Shane Daniel, the five-year-old grandson of the homeowners allegedly started the fire with a cigarette lighter in his bedroom closet.

The child then alerted his grandparents that the house was on fire. The grandmother told investigators she threw a bucket of water on the fire, but "the fire was too large for the water to do any good," according to the press release.

She then called 911 and fire fighters soon after responded to the blaze. No one was injured in the incident.