Cigarette Fire Damages Home In Lake Barcroft

Improperly discarded smoking materials caused a fire over the weekend in Lake Barcroft.

Around 11:43 p.m. on Saturday, April 28, units from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue and the Arlington County Fire Department responded to the apartment fire in the 3600 block of Malibu Circle. Firefighters found fire coming from the balcony of a second floor garden style apartment and quickly extinguished it.

No one was home when the fire ignited. A neighbor discovered it and called 911. There were no injuries.

Fire Investigators determined improperly discarded smoking materials in a plastic planter pot with soil started the fire on balcony. Red Cross assistance was not needed. Initial damage estimates total $2,100.

Fairfax County fire marshals determined improperly discarded smoking materials was the cause of a major fire at a senior apartment complex in Centreville Wednesday that displaced more than 100. Acting fire and rescue chief John Caussin says 40 percent of the structural fires in the county so far this year were a result of improperly discarded smoking materials. The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department urges residents to follow and share the following safety tips about smoking materials:

• Do not throw away cigarette butts in potted planting soil. Soil becoming too dry can be highly flammable.
• Completely douse butts and ashes with water before throwing them away, as they can smolder and cause a fire.
• Do not smoke in bed.
• Provide large, deep ashtrays with a center support for smokers.
• Check furniture for any dropped ashes before going to bed.
• Empty ashes into a fireproof container with water and sand.
• Keep smoking materials away from anything that can burn, such as mattresses, bedding, upholstered furniture and draperies.
• Never smoke in a home where oxygen is being used.
• Choose fire-safe cigarettes, which are less likely to cause fires.
• Be alert to prevent fires You won't be if you are sleepy, have been drinking, or have taken medicine or other drugs.
• Keep matches and lighters up high, out of children's sight and reach.

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