WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and SportsBeloit boy in hospital after house fire

Beloit boy in hospital after house fire

BELOIT (WKOW) -- A five year old from Beloit was taken to a Milwaukee burn treatment center after a fire destroyed his home early Friday morning.

The Beloit Fire Department says the boy is doing well following his injuries.

The fire started shortly after midnight at 1310 Copeland Avenue. A single mother lived with her two sets of twins there, including the five year old. She later told her landlord she had dozed off in the living room around ten o'clock.

"She was on the chair. They were on the couch. She left her cigarettes and lighter laying open on the counter on the coffee table. and when she woke up the couch was engulfed, the kids were screaming," explained Ed Mulligan, the landlord.

The mother was able to get three of the children out, but one of the five year olds was trapped in the bedroom.

"She couldn't get to him because of the heat and the fire," said Mulligan.

The upstairs tenat was able to get the boy out by breaking the bedroom window.

The fire department is still investigating the blaze, but confirms it was probably initiated by one of the kids playing with matches or a cigarette lighter. The family is staying with the kids' grandmother down the street.

The Red Cross is also helping. The family does not have renters insurance.