Four people jumped from an upper window of a North Toledo home Friday as the two-story residence burned, officials said.
The four -- one adult and three children -- were taken to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center for treatment. The cause and extent of their injuries, not believed to be life-threatening, were unclear Friday night.
The Toledo Fire Department responded to the fire at 27 E. Pearl St. at 2:06 p.m. and remained on scene for about two hours, fire Lt. Matthew Hertzfeld said. Fire and smoke billowed from doors and windows when firefighters arrived.
A group of young siblings, walking from a nearby barbershop on Lagrange Street to the library, said they heard sirens and saw smoke "coming out of windows, and doors, and parts of the roof," said Kejuan Richardson, 10.
He and his sister, Amyah Triplett, 12, said their own home had caught fire several times, so they were sympathetic to the victims of Friday's fire.
Lieutenant Hertzfeld said the fire is still under investigation, but is believed to have been started by a 4-year-old playing with matches.
The child apparently dropped a lit match on either a couch or mattress and then ran upstairs to hide. The fire spread rapidly through the home, which was built in 1915 and is owned by Haseeb Sadick, of the same address, according to Lucas County land records.
A damage estimate was not available.
Lieutenant Hertzfeld said the East Pearl home had two smoke detectors, but neither had batteries.
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