A child playing with a lighter started a two-alarm fire Thursday in the bedroom of an apartment on Old Anson Road, according to the Abilene Fire Department.
The blaze has displaced Marshawn Benton and his family from the Anson Parks Apartments located on the 2900 block of Old Anson Road "for the foreseeable future," a fire department news release said.
Cynthia Ramsey, who is neighbors with Benton, said she was startled Thursday morning by a bang.
"All of a sudden there was a hard knock at my door, and it was my neighbor saying, 'Call 911 my apartment's on fire,'" Ramsey said.
Benton said he was in the bathroom when his fire alarm went off. He immediately grabbed his two young sons and left.
"I tried to get the fire extinguisher off the wall, and that's when I got my neighbor to call the fire department," Benson said.
Damages are estimated at $20,000.
Abilene Fire Department spokesman Mike Miller said firefighters arrived on scene at 11:45 a.m. to smoke billowing from the three-bedroom apartment.