St. Charles child accidentally starts house fire

A child playing with a lighter started a fire that left his family's St. Charles home uninhabitable Wednesday afternoon, according to fire officials.

The boy was playing with a butane grill lighter inside the home's attached garage on the 400 block of South 11th Avenue when the fire broke out around 2:45 p.m., according to fire officials.

After starting the fire, he told his mother what had happened and everyone was able to exit the home safely, according to officials.

It took firefighters about 30 minutes to bring the blaze under control, which had spread to the inside of the ranch home.

An initial investigation estimated the damages to the house at $100,000 and $50,000 to the contents.

The St. Charles Fire Department was assisted by the Batavia and Geneva fire departments.