An improperly discarded cigarette sparked a three-alarm fire that damaged nine One Lake Place condominiums and caused $1 million in damage, said Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli.
Sixteen adults and children were displaced by the blaze that burned through the roof of the three-story complex the evening of July 2 at 5264 N.E. 121st Ave. in Orchards. Investigators determined that the fire was unintentional. A resident was smoking on a second-floor patio and put the cigarette into a planter, which contained a potting soil made of wood byproducts, Scarpelli said.
Instead of extinguishing the fire, the soil allows it to smolder, ultimately igniting nearby combustible materials. It’s very similar to a bark dust fire, Scarpelli said.
She said smokers should put out cigarettes in a metal container filled with sand or water. “That’s really the safest way to discard of a cigarette.”
