Discarded Cigarette Caused Shocking Destruction:
‘There’s No Apartment Building There Anymore’
April 9, 2016, was a typical Saturday for Raleigh – until it wasn’t. That day, one improperly discarded cigarette, combined with low humidity and windy conditions, caused a chain of events that local firefighters remember still.
The day started with some sun, a little breeze and temperatures rising into the 50s. As the hours ticked by, a weather system moved through the area. Around lunchtime the winds began to really kick up and the humidity and dewpoints began to crash. By mid-afternoon, the sun was shining brightly with a few clouds, but the wind was gusting up more than 30 miles per hour at times and humidity and dewpoints continued to drop.
“In these conditions light fuels on the ground, such as leaves and pine straw, become extremely dry and prone to fire,” explains Chief Fire Investigator James Pearce of the Raleigh Fire Department. “It creates a sort of a tinderbox situation, an adversary laying in wait for that one little spark to set it all off.”
More Equipment, More Manpower, More Water
“You could see the smoke plume from Capital Boulevard back to the west. The radio was chattering non-stop for additional resources, more equipment and manpower, more water. Our fire investigation unit was clearing up from a previous fire and was responding to this one, and you could quickly tell that this was quite a dire situation. As we worked our way across town, the smoke plume just got bigger and bigger and news helicopters circled the smoke. Besides the main source of the fire, spot fires and fires from blowing embers were igniting in the area and more units were sent in to handle those.
At the scene fire engines and ladder trucks, chiefs’ cars and yellow fire hoses were everywhere. We gathered our gear and walked the distance to the believed source. But then we stopped. There was supposed to be an apartment building there somewhere, but we didn’t see it. Quite quickly it became evident that on the other side of the curbing, past the handful of burned cars, there had been a building. In just a few short minutes what was a moderate-sized apartment building had been reduced to what looked like a burning pile of construction debris, like something you would see on a lot slated for demolition. We set to work to find out what had caused all this.”
Fortunately, there were no major injuries or fatalities that day, but the destruction was something that even firefighters rarely see. “Investigation revealed that the fire started earlier in the day when a resident walked out on their porch, smoked a cigarette and then flipped it onto the ground, still burning,” Pearce says.
Help Us Out, Put it Out
Improperly discarded smoking materials are one of the top two causes of residential fires in Raleigh (the other is unattended cooking). In 2022, there were 1,130 total fires in Raleigh and at least 127 of them were caused by smoking materials, Pearce says.
One of the problems is the location where most of these fires start: outside, where there’s no fire detection equipment. These fires can smolder longer and gain strength, which in turn will produce more destructive fires and greatly increase the risk of lost lives. Improperly discarded smoking material fires also have the potential to affect more than one home, meaning multiple families are at risk of losing everything.
To reduce the number of these fires, the Raleigh Fire Department has an ongoing “Help Us Out, Put It Out” campaign that educates residents on how to properly discard smoking materials.
“Fires started by the improper disposal of smoking materials are not only the most life-threatening but cause the most damage,” Pearce summarizes. “However, the good news is they are also highly preventable.”
The National Fire Protection Association shares these tips:
- If you smoke, smoke outside.
- Be observant: If the conditions are extremely dry and windy, ensure you have a safe way to extinguish smoking materials, leaving behind no sparks.
- Don’t used potted plants to extinguish smoking materials.
- Whenever you smoke, use deep, wide and sturdy ashtrays. Ashtrays should be set on something sturdy and hard to ignite, like an end table.
- Before you throw out butts and ashes, make sure they are completely out. Dowsing in water or sand is the best way to do that.
- Check under furniture cushions and in other places for cigarette butts that may have fallen out of sight.
- To prevent a deadly cigarette fire, you must be alert. You won’t be if you are sleepy, have been drinking or have taken medicine or other drugs.
