Five-year-old twin boys who were playing with matches ignited a blaze that destroyed their Riviera Beach home yesterday morning, Anne Arundel County fire officials said.
Shortly after 8 a.m., the twins informed their mother, Dawn Kiser, that they had accidentally started a fire in a bedroom of the two-story townhouse in the 8500 block of Beacon Point Road.
All of the house's occupants - Kiser, the twins, another of her children and two nieces - escaped without serious injury. However, Kiser's nieces, ages 3 and 6, were transported to North Arundel Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, fire officials said.
Kiser also appeared to suffer from smoke inhalation, but she refused medical treatment, said Lt. George Wiseman, a fire department spokesman.
Fire officials estimated that the blaze, which took a half-hour to get under control, caused $130,000 in damage. "It's pretty much a total loss," Wiseman said.
