Children Playing With Fire May Have Started Blaze That Killed 10 Year Old Canadian Boy

EDMONTON (CP) -- Playing with fire killed a 10-year-old Alberta boy Sunday night, say investigators.

Fire department spokeswoman Karen Carlson said investigators believe Joseph Lawson sparked the $75,000-blaze by playing with fire in a basement closet of the Edmonton home.

The boy's mother, Jeanette, managed to get her three other children, two boys and a girl, out of the house, but could not reach the 10-year-old.

Joseph's father, Mike, was not at home at the time.

''She tried, but there was too much smoke,'' the boy's uncle Don Lawson said Monday. ''Joseph slept in a bedroom in the basement.''

Firefighters pulled the boy from the home unconscious and in cardiac arrest. He was rushed to hospital where he died.

Lawson described his nephew as bright, friendly and curious.

''He was interested in everything,'' Lawson said. ''He couldn't learn enough. He brightened up the room when he came in.''

The Lawson family worshipped regularly at the nearby Christian Life Centre, where Jeanette directed the choir, said congregation member Dave Brulotte, as she visited the scene of the fire Monday.

''From a spiritual perspective, he was filled with light,'' said Brulotte of the boy.

One firefighter, who had failed to seal his breathing mask properly, was treated for smoke inhalation. (Edmonton Sun, Edmonton Journal)