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Officials: 4-year-old set house fire for attention

The boy was taken to a hospital with injuries; his condition wasn’t immediately known

Associated Press

LEBANON, Pa. — Fire officials say they believe a 4-year-old boy started a fire in his central Pennsylvania home in an attempt to get attention.

The Lebanon Daily News reports the blaze broke out in a second-floor bedroom of a Lebanon home on Sunday morning. A cat died in the fire, which displaced two adults and four children.

Fire Commissioner Duane Trautman says the fire began in a child’s bed. He says he doesn’t know how the fire started, but said the boy may have had access to some matches or a lighter.

The child was taken to a hospital with injuries. His condition wasn’t immediately known.

Trautman says narrow streets and high winds posed challenges to firefighters. He estimates damage to the building at about $50,000.