Four children in a bedroom in a Gainesville public housing unit accidentally set a bed on fire with a lit candle, fire officials said.

There were no injuries.

Gainesville firefighters responded to a report of a fire at Building A of Harrison Square Apartments off Old Athens Street shortly after 4 p.m.

Heavy smoke was pouring from a second-story window when firefighters arrived, Gainesville Fire Chief Jon Canada said.

The five occupants of the apartment had escaped safely before firefighters arrived. Canada said a man briefly left the children alone in the bedroom with a lit candle and they began playing with it shortly after he left the room.

Firefighters made an interior attack on the fire, which was confined to a single room, and had it out quickly.

A number of residents were temporarily evacuated and traffic was rerouted for a time.