JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Red Cross is assisting a Westside family after fire heavily damaged its home Tuesday night.
Firefighters said a 5-year-old boy inside the home was playing with a lighter and accidentally started the blaze in a bedroom.
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The boy's uncle, Denell Crews, said his family was lucky to make it out with only minor injuries.
"When I got in there there was smoke insulation; it was black smoke and I couldn't see through it," said Crews, who was just outside the home smoking when the fire started. "I was up under the carport and my daddy told me to bring the hose, but I couldn't bring the hose in time -- it just happened so quickly."
A woman who lived inside the house is still recovering from smoke inhalation in the hospital. Most of the family members were there with her Wednesday.
Two children and three adults escaped the fire.
Debris from the fire could be seen on on the lawn outside the home Wednesday.
"It was just the grace of God that we're still here," Crews said.
Jacksonville Firefighters Union President Randy Wyse said incidents like this are pretty common but can be prevented by keeping kids away from matches and lighters.
"The first thing is, either get them in a locked area or high enough where the child can't access them and really watch them," Wyse said. "As early as 2 or 3 years old, educating children, 'You should not touch these things.'"
It's a lesson Crews said he and his family had to learn the hard way.
"We're going to lock up the lighters," Crews said. "We can't have it like that or it'll be the same thing."
Family members said they're not sure when they'll be allowed back inside their home but that they're just concerned about everybody's health and that they'll worry about that later.