COLUMBUS – A 52-year-old East Side man was listed in critical condition after being rescued from a fire investigators say was started by his grandchild.
When fire broke out just after 4:00 a.m. in a duplex home at 1095 S. James Road where Carlton Crowder lives with his young grandchildren, firefighters found a child’s bedroom in flames and Crowder in the upstairs bathroom, according to Battalion Chief Steve Martin.
The unresponsive Crowder was taken first to Grant Medical Center, then transferred to OSU Medical Center where he is listed in critical condition, Martin said.
Martin says investigators determined the fire started on the bunk beds in the bedroom where Crowder’s 5- and 6-year-old grandchildren sleep. Martin said the 6-year-old admitted to lighting some paper on fire at the foot of the lower bunk.
Both children will be referred to the Division of Fire’s Juvenile Fire Setter Program, which is designed to engage at risk children who accidentally or intentionally start a fire, as well as their families to involve them in fire safety prevention, education and intervention services, Martin said.