Child 'as young as two' lit fire that gutted Hamilton home

Child 'as young as two' lit fire that gutted Hamilton home

The fire service is calling for parents to be extra attentive to the fire risk posed by children after it was revealed a toddler playing with a lighter was the cause of a blaze that left a house in Hamilton fully engulfed and four people injured.

Fire risk management officer Jess Kukutai says it is believed the child who ignited the massive fire "could have been as young as two".

A live video posted on Facebook on Sunday shows the extent of the inferno and much of the action, as at least 20 fire fighters arrived at the scene to extinguish the blaze using low pressure deliveries and water.

The footage also captured the comical moment a neighbour who had been evacuated from the property next door ran back in to grab himself a bottle of Coke. He had been told to leave because of high winds, which would have made the fire spreading to his home inevitable if not for the intervention of fire fighters.

But that was the only thing even remotely funny to emerge from the incident, as ambulance staff treated one person for moderate injuries and three others for minor injuries.

Fortunately the house was fitted with fire alarms, which alerted the occupants to the danger.

Child 'as young as two' lit fire that gutted Hamilton home

The fire completely gutted the house (Facebook / Tony Downie)

Ms Kukutai said the incident has brought attention to the need to make the dangers of playing with flammable objects clear to children, and to incentivise them to hand all such items to adults.

"All matches and lighters should be kept away from kids, and it's important to remember a child-resistant lighter does not mean it's childproof," she said.

Ms Kukutai says 63 percent of deliberately set fires are ignited by people under the age of 17, and most of those are not done with malicious intent but are instead caused by ignorance to the dangers.

She says their Fire Awareness and Intervention Programme (FAIP) has been put in place not to "go in there and rip into them", but rather to teach those in that age bracket about the harm that's caused by fires.

And it has a high success rate, with just two percent of those who go through the programme offending again.

She says for children, the desire to light fires usually comes about as a result of curiosity, attention-seeking, peer pressure or anger - all of which can be remedied if children are provided with the appropriate tools.

Parents can refer a young person to FAIP by calling 0800 3473 4636.

Newshub.