Fire displaces 11 residents near downtown Modesto

A 4-year-old boy playing with a lighter started a major blaze that severely damaged two duplexes on Fairview Street just southeast of downtown Modesto this afternoon.

Nine adults and two children were displaced and will be sheltered and fed by the Red Cross tonight, said Battalion Chief Terry Inderbitzen of the Modesto Regional Fire Authority.

The boy told fire investigators he was playing with a lighter when the bedding caught fire. He ran out to his dad in the living room, who scooped him up and got out of the house around 2:20 p.m.

Firefighters arrived to find the duplex in flames.

Fallen wires from power lines delayed the firefighters’ attack, Inderbitzen said.

The damage was largely limited to the two-unit duplex and one of two units in the duplex next door.

The estimated damage was $150,000.

The only injury was to a firefighter bitten by a dog he tried to rescue. The firefighter was given a tetanus shot and his hand required stitches, Inderbitzen said.

The dog, McQueen, escaped injury. He belongs to the boy.