Smoking materials were the most likely cause of a two-alarm fire at a Vancouver apartment complex last week, Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said.
Seven people were displaced on Feb. 26 when the fire ripped through The Avenues apartment complex at 5515 N.E. 82nd Ave. just before 1 p.m. One resident of the complex rescued a neighbor’s dog from a burning building.
The smoking materials likely ignited combustible materials on a patio of one of the units, Scarpelli said. She said that it is important to throw cigarette butts into water or sand to prevent fires like these.
