Quick thinking on the part of a family friend helped a two-year-old girl escape serious injury when the pull-behind, camping trailer she was sleeping in caught fire early Sunday at Winfield City Lake, fire officials said.
The young girl ? who has yet to be identified by name ? was sleeping in a late 1970s or early 1980s model camper when a candle started a fire in the bathroom. Dennis Darby, a Winfield Fire Department engineer and investigator, said the candle was left burning and burned down far enough to ignite the surface on which it was set.
The 28 feet-by-eight-feet camper was totally destroyed by the fire, which occurred sometime after 3 a.m. near the Boy Scout camping area of the lake.
Other members of the girl’s family were sleeping in a tent outside and had put the toddler in the camper to help her avoid getting mosquito bites, Darby said. A friend of the family saw flames and rushed inside to find the child.
She was transported to a local hospital and later taken to Via Christi-St. Francis Hospital in Wichita. The girl suffered burns to her arms and legs. Her injuries were not life-threatening and covered only about seven percent of her body, Darby said.
"It was a good thing that someone was there and aware of what was happening," he said. "Because that camper was gone by the time we got to the lake."
The sheriff’s office reported that deputies assisted at the scene.
