Texas mom, 3 children burned using gasoline to start fire

A West Texas woman and her three children have been burned in a flash fire while using gasoline in a fireplace for warmth a day after fuel was disconnected to the home.

An Abilene Fire Department statement says the victims were burned around 9 a.m. Tuesday. The mother and children were transported to an Abilene hospital and transferred to a Dallas burn center.

Deputy Fire Marshal Capt. Jeremy Williams says the 32-year-old mother and a 7-year-old girl suffered second-degree burns to the face. Two other children, ages 7 and 4, suffered minor burns.

Williams says the mother initially used lighter fluid to fuel a fire after the gas was shut off Monday, then switched to gasoline.

The National Weather Service reports temperatures Tuesday morning in Abilene were in the 20s.

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