Careless smoking blamed for $600K fire in 2 Glass Avenue homes in east London

A smoldering cigarette is to blame for an estimated $600,000 in damage at two homes in London earlier this week, according to the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office.

It was about 1 p.m. Tuesday when a fire broke out on a wooden deck behind 27 Glass Ave., burning its way inside the home and spreading to the neighbouring house, 25 Glass Ave.

A man inside the first home was napping at the time and officials with the London Fire Department credit a working smoke alarm for likely saving his life.

Investigators say the discarded cigarette smoldered for hours before the fire broke out, causing flames to travel through the neighbour’s fence, deck, and house, where no one was home.

Assistant Deputy Chief Shawn Fitzgerald is warning smokers to fully extinguish their cigarettes in an ashtray.

“We would also caution smokers not to smoke while in bed,” he said.

Firefighters also responded to an overnight fire at 1174 Hamilton Rd., where they found people inside trying unsuccessfully to put out a fire that started in a mattress. Firefighters saw evidence of habitual careless smoking because the mattress, which was carried outside and fully extinguished, had numerous burn marks.

Investigators also found contraband cigarettes inside the home.

“Contraband cigarettes are not only illegal, they can be lethal,” warned Fitzgerald.

Fire officials say the number of incidents stemming from illegal cigarettes is mounting at an alarming rate.

In the fall of last year, an elderly woman died in hospital after a blaze at a supportive housing facility that was sparked by careless smoking and caused roughly $130,000 in damage.