17 injured in fire started by children

Abdullah Al-Maqati
Okaz/Saudi Gazette 

TAIF — Seventeen people from two families sustained various injuries Sunday when children playing with matches set fire to their apartment in a three-story building in Taif.

Three firefighting teams rushed to the scene to battle the fire and evacuate the building. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital.

Col. Khalid Al-Qahtani, spokesman for Taif Civil Defense, said some children were playing with matches in the living room of an apartment while their parents were asleep. They set fire to some material which quickly spread throughout the apartment and the adjoining one, while the whole building was enveloped with smoke.