By William Wan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 7, 2008 4:42 PM

A 12-year-old boy playing with fireworks in his bedroom set his house on fire in Anne Arundel County,causing $100,000 in damages, authorities said.

The fire occurred on Saturday just before noon in the 500 block of Meadow Mist Way in Odenton. Using a lighter on the second floor of his townhouse, the boy lit a type of sparkling firework that remains on the ground, firefighters said. It is the only kind of fireworks that is legal in the county, according to the fire department.

The boy's father, who was in the house at the time, was alerted to the fire by the smoke detector. The family, including the boy's parents and five of his siblings, were evacuated without injury, said county fire Division Chief Michael Cox.

The fire spread from the bedroom to the rest of the family's home in the middle of a row of townhouses. The first firefighters to arrive on the scene saw smoke from the front and side of the home, and called for reinforcements. It took 45 firefighters about half-an-hour to bring the flames under control, authorities said.

"The house sustained significant smoke, fire and water damage," Cox said. "But luckily, no one was injured."

The family could not be reached by phone. The American Red Cross was called to assist the family, Cox said.