WATERLOO - A fire that chased two women and their children from their home Monday morning was started by a child playing with a cigarette lighter, firefighters said.

The blaze began shortly before 9 a.m., and two women had to throw three children out an upstairs window before jumping to escape the heat and flames.

Paramedics examined the children and found no serious injuries, said Capt. Steve Weliver with Waterloo Fire Rescue.

The Hawkeye Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the family.

Fire Marshal Steve Jordan said a 7-year-old ignited a downstairs couch with a lighter while others in the house were asleep, and the flames spread.

Laverne Cosby, also downstairs, was alerted to the smoke and put the 7-year-old and the child's 5-year-old sister out a door and went upstairs to wake Latoya Donald, who was asleep with her three children.

"She took a big chance, but she saved a few lives," Weliver said. "They are awful lucky."

As the house filled with smoke, Cosby and Donald found their escape was cut off. They were forced to drop the children from the upstairs back window to the ground. The window is to a playroom that is about a story-and-a-half up, between the first floor and the second-floor bedroom, said Roshanda Brooks, Donald's aunt.

Brooks said Donald's children, ages 8, 7 and 4, were afraid of the drop, and the women had to struggle to get them out the window.

"They had to fight with them because they didn't want to go," Brooks said.

The family had just bought new school clothes and had restocked the groceries, all of which were destroyed, Brooks said.

Donald said the rental house was about to be inspected by the fire department and lacked smoke alarms.

No one reported hearing alarms, but Weliver said at least one smoke alarm was discovered inside. It was melted on the wall where it hung.

Weliver didn't know if the smoke detector malfunctioned at the time of the fire or if it lacked batteries.

The house is owned by Ryan Roach of Denver.

Contact Jeff Reinitz

at (319) 291-1578 or

jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.