LOUISVILLE, Ky. --
Three children have been injured playing with firecrackers.
The accident happened around 4 p.m. in the 4300 block of Malcolm Avenue, off Taylor Boulevard just south of the Watterson Expressway.
A Louisville fire spokesperson said the children are 3, 13 and 16 years old. Firefighters said the children were playing with bottle rockets and gasoline when gas fumes ignited.
"I heard this loud burst -- boom -- and I left my room, and it was so hard that it shook the clock on my wall," said Dorris Long, who lives next door to where the explosion took place. "The children were out here in the front yard, screaming."
Long said she spoke with one of the children minutes after the explosion.
"He said, 'We were playing with fireworks in the back yard. My brother dropped a lighter and it ignited. It just went to the gasoline thing and it just blew up,'" Long said.
Officials said the children have burns on their hands and arms. The 3-year-old girl was apparently burned the worst.
The 3-year-old has third-degree burns over 25 percent of her body, but her injuries are not life-threatening.
"It looked like her skin was rolling off her arm and chest and her mother was trying to comfort her," Long said.
The children were all transported to Kosair Children's Hospital for treatment and are in good condition.
"I'm very glad to hear that. I'm so thankful. I prayed that they would be OK. I'm just sorry they're in pain," Long said.
Investigators said they're trying to determine how the children got their hands on illegal fireworks.
"They were bottle rockets. They are illegal to possess. We're not exactly sure -- we're kind of trying to backtrack and figure out where they came from," said Maj. Henry Ott, with the Louisville Metro Arson Squad.
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