Children playing with matches sparked a fire that spread from a garbage pile to a three-story apartment house on Central Street late Saturday afternoon.
Residents were forced to evacuate the building at 1007-1011 Central St. around 5:30 p.m. while crews attacked the fire, which was initially thought to have been confined to the garbage pile.
Lowell fire Deputy Chief Mark McGuane said a pair of children, believed to be ages 11 and 8, were using a cardboard box to cook hotdogs while playing house in the backyard.
The box ignited a trash pile on the other side of the fence the apartment building shares with Johnstone Supply, located on Gorham Street.
"Embers got up into the building, so we had to take a lot of the siding off the back," McGuane said. "It turned into a little bit more than kids' play."
Cornell Grinkley, who lives next door, said he noticed the fire when he heard a commotion outside.
"It sounded like a fight," he said.