Fire chief: Smoking caused Butler apartment fire, 1 resident displaced
A Thursday, April 18, fire in a South Cliff Street apartment started as a result of smoking, according to Butler City Bureau of Fire.
One person was displaced in the fire, which is believed to have began in a second floor apartment where smoking materials were found, Chief Chris Switala said Friday morning. The fire was deemed accidental, he said.
“The person whose apartment unit caught fire was just coming home at the time,” Switala said. “The occupant was smoking a short time before leaving the apartment. When he returned home, we were already on scene.”
He explained that smoking materials can smolder for hours before breaking out into a fire.
The residence at 118 South Cliff St. housed four apartment units, which were evacuated while crews fought the blaze, but all but one resident were able to return to their homes, according to Switala.
“Fortunately, there were a lot of closed doors, so that contained the fire and the smoke,” he said.
The Red Cross was contacted to find housing for the one displaced resident, Switala said.
Dispatchers reported the fire around 9:23 p.m. Thursday night after multiple callers reported flames coming from the second floor window. Firefighters were on scene three minutes later.
“We had the fire knocked down within 15 minutes,” Switala said.
Crews remained on scene for an hour and a half.
“Everything seemed to go good. It was actually a very quick knock down,” he said. “We were able to contain it to the single unit, and get the residents back in with very minimal damage.”
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire, according to Switala.
Butler Ambulance Service, Butler City police, Butler Township Volunteer Fire District and Butler VA Fire and Emergency Services Department responded to the scene.
