The incident took place on the morning of Sunday, August 23rd, in Saint-Martin-de-Seignanx (Landes department, south-western France). The boy began by setting a mattress on fire…

On Sunday, August 23rd at around 11:15 am, 14 firefighters went out to stop a fire in a flat on the second floor of a residence in Saint-Martin-de-Seignanx, according to the France Bleu radio. The incident destroyed the flat.

According to the National Gendarmerie, the blaze started with a burning mattress. A 4-year-old child set it on fire with a lighter after his mother punished him.

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The mother and her two children, who lived in the flat, were re-housed by the Saint-Martin-de-Seignanx municipality. The blaze did not cause any damage to the other flats in the residence, according to the fire brigade.

However, because of the smoke, a firefighter collapsed and was taken to the hospital of Bayonne.