Baby hurt as sparkler causes fire

The child had been playing with sparklers

A week-old baby is in hospital and a family have been left homeless after a fire at their house in Londonderry.

The blaze at Kelly McConnell's mother's house in Carnhill on Thursday was caused by a child playing with sparklers in an upstairs bedroom.

The baby was treated in hospital for smoke inhalation and the house was extensively damaged.

Ms McConnell said they only became aware of the fire when the child had gone outside.

"The smoke detector went off and my sister, who was in the house at the time, said she could smell burning," she said.

"Mum thought it was from the kids running through the house going out the back with the sparklers, but she went upstairs to check.

"Flames were going up the side of the walls and going up the sides of the beds.

"So she just closed the bedroom door and got everybody out of the house."

Kevin Chester, of the Fire and Rescue Service, said it was "lucky no-one was killed".

"They had working smoke alarms in the house, they closed the door on the fire and left the property," he said.

"At this time of year, with Halloween, there are fireworks and sparklers, we are just asking parents to make sure children are accompanied and make sure they are kept safe."