A carelessly discarded cigarette is being blamed for sparking a blaze that caused over half a million dollars in damage to two homes in east London earlier this week.
Investigators with the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office made the discovery while looking into the cause of the fires at 27 and 25 Glass Ave. Firefighters were called to the homes on Tuesday afternoon and encountered thick black smoke and flames shooting into the air.
At the time, it was unclear how the fire started but fire officials have since determined it originated in the area of a wooden deck at the back of 27 Glass Ave., then burned its way inside. The flames then travelled through the neighbour’s fence and deck, burning their way into the second house where no-one was home.
A man and his dog inside the house where the fire originated made it out of the home without injury thanks to a working smoke alarm.
The fire caused an estimated $600,000 in damage.
Fire officials also announced a fire that broke out early Thursday morning at an apartment building at 1174 Hamilton Rd. was caused by careless smoking and contraband cigarettes. Fire crews arrived to find the residents of one of the units trying to douse the flames on a mattress. There was evidence of habitual careless smoking on the mattress and contraband cigarettes inside the unit, according to fire officials.
The fires have prompted the London Fire Department to issue another warning about the dangers of careless smoking - the second time it has done so in just three weeks.
“Firefighters would like to remind smokers to fully extinguish their cigarettes in an ashtray. We would also caution smokers to not smoke while in bed. And contraband cigarettes are not only illegal, they can be lethal," said Assistant Deputy Fire Chief Shawn Fitzgerald.
