Child Playing With Lighter May Have Started Fatal Fire
The child who died in a Spokane Valley trailer fire Thursday may have started the blaze with his mother’s lighter, investigators said.
Bradley Wilson, 4, couldn’t escape the smoke-filled home at the Trailer Inn’s RV Park, 6021 E. Fourth. His mother, Monica Wilson, 24, tried frantically to rescue him from the fire, which started about 9:30 a.m.
While an exact cause hasn’t been determined, investigators said Friday they suspect the boy was playing with the lighter before his mother woke up. When the fire started, the boy likely got scared and climbed into bed with his mother, they said.
“We can’t eliminate the possibility the 4-year-old got up early and used the lighter,” said Valley Fire Marshal Paul Chase. He said one of Monica Wilson’s lighters still is missing.
“If you have preschool children, you really need to keep (lighters) locked up away from them,” Chase said.
Disoriented from smoke inhalation, Monica Wilson didn’t realize her son was lying next to her when she awoke. She ran to the other end of the 20-foot trailer looking for him, and never made it back to the bedroom.
She remained in satisfactory condition at Sacred Heart Medical Center on Friday with burns on her face and back. Her father, John Schaeffer, said doctors wanted to keep her at the hospital because she is six months pregnant.
“She’s on an emotional roller coaster, really,” Schaeffer said. “Physically, she’s going to be OK.”
Schaeffer said Bradley was a smiling, curious boy who “got into everything.”
“He’s giving God a run for his money right now,” Schaeffer said of his grandson. “That’s for sure.”
Monica Wilson graduated from University High School and has been living with her boyfriend in the trailer since early summer. He was out of town when the fire occurred.
The two lived briefly in Colorado with Bradley before returning to Spokane so Monica Wilson could have the baby here, her father said.
The smoke detector the family had in the trailer went off “every time she boiled water on the stove,” Schaeffer said, so Monica Wilson finally took the batteries out.
Free smoke detectors will be available over the weekend for low-income families at Valley Fire Station 1, 10319 E. Sprague.
A trust fund has been set up at Washington Trust Bank. Donations can be made at any local branch.
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The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Bonnie Harris Staff writer Staff writer Brian Coddington contributed to this report.