Child Sets Fire At Extended Stay Motel While Adults Sleep: Marshal

CARTERSVILLE, GA — While two adults slept, an “unattended three year old” playing with a cigarette lighter set bedding and flooring on fire Tuesday morning at a Cartersville extended-stay motel.

Rescue crews were called at about 1 a.m. to the Efficiency Lodge on Highway 20 over what they thought was a structure fire, according to a statement from Bartow County Fire and Emergency Services Fire Marshal Andy Moore. When rescuers arrived, though, they saw no obvious outside damage.

Further investigation revealed that the fire was already extinguished and that it had been caused by a toddler in one of the units “playing with a small butane touch/lighter,” according to the statement. The two adults in the unit were sleeping when the fire started.

One of the adults, a 39-year-old male, received minor burns to his leg. He was treated at the scene and declined to be taken to a local hospital.

The Cartersville Fire Department and the Bartow County Sheriff's Office also responded to the incident. Clean-up was complete by about 1:35 a.m.