COLUMBUS – A discarded cigarette led to a fire and evacuation of an apartment building Monday night in Columbus.
According to the Columbus Fire Department, firefighters responded to Canterbury Place Apartments on Nicholas Lane at about 9:43 p.m. after a report of a fire on a balcony.
Firefighters found fire on the balcony of a second-story apartment.
Columbus Police Department officers had already arrived and were evacuating residents.
Firefighters with a fire hose extinguished the fire on the balcony within minutes. After the fire was out, they pulled down a part of the balcony ceiling and wall to make sure the fire had not extended into the attic or interior walls.
A witness told firefighters, a family member had been smoking a cigarette on the balcony, and discarded it into a cardboard box containing old cigarette butts. Investigators say that the cardboard box had been completely burned away, leaving only the cigarette butts behind.
Investigators ruled the fire was accidental.
Damages are estimated at around $5,000.
