Cause of Townhouse Fire: Discarded Smoking Materials
Improperly discarded smoking materials caused $160,000 in damages.
Fairfax County fire investigators have determined that a townhouse fire on Friday was accidental, caused by discarded smoking materials from an unidentified passerby.
According to a release from Fairfax County, the fire started from the discarded smoking materials flicked into a mulch pile, which ignited a townhouse and spread to another on Hoskins Hollow Circle in Centreville. The fire damaged the unit and other townhouses in the complex, displacing eight adults and one child.
Damage at the complex is estimated at $160,000, according to the release.
Three witnesses and a county firefighter rescued two women from the burning house, including an older woman in a wheelchair.
The fire was brought under control in about 30 minutes, and the two women were taken to INOVA Fairfax Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Click here for the county’s tips on safely discarding smoking materials.
Pete Kirby
11:52 am on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
I disagree with the finding that the fire was accidental. Throwing a lit cigarette or any other smoking material into mulch against a home is an act of negligence. This stupidity nearly cost a wheelchair-bound resident and others who came to her aid their lives. That's no accident!
Teresa Thompson Selove
4:13 pm on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Anyone discarding a cigarette anywhere without extinguishing it is negligence. This should be against the law.