Three people were forced out of their homes last week by an apartment fire in the Herndon area that investigators say resulted from improperly discarded smoking materials.
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department was dispatched at 12:42 p.m. last Wednesday (April 15) for reports of an outdoor fire that was spreading to the Kendrick Court Senior Apartments building (13430 Coppermine Road) in McNair.
“First-arriving units found fire extending from the outside into a ground-floor apartment with flames reaching toward the second floor,” the FCFRD said yesterday (Monday) in a press release. “Crews quickly began working to extinguish the fire and conduct searches while evacuating residents.”
According to the fire department, the fire was first detected by an occupant in the building who smelled smoke outside his apartment. He then discovered that the smoke was coming from “a mulch bed outside the building.”
Everyone in the building managed to either evacuate or was able to safely shelter in place, the FCFRD said. One person was evaluated by medics at the scene, but no injuries were reported.
The fire caused an estimated $98,275 in property damages, according to the FCFRD. An investigation determined that a cigarette or some other smoking material had been improperly disposed of in the bed of mulch, igniting the fire.
The blaze occurred in the middle of a spring heat wave on a day that saw temperatures reach record highs at both Reagan National and Dulles International airports.
With the heat exacerbating what has become Virginia’s most widespread drought in nearly 20 years, Fairfax County had warned that the dry conditions heighten the risk of a serious fire and advised people who smoke to take extra precautions.
From an April 17 post on the county’s emergency blog:
Dry conditions make it much easier for a small spark to start a serious fire. Our Fire and Rescue Department has long warned that improperly discarded smoking materials are one of the leading causes of fire in the county. When the ground is dry and vegetation is parched, the risk is even greater.
The department’s “Sink It or Soak It!” campaign offers straightforward guidance for residents who smoke:
- Never toss cigarette butts into mulch, dry soil or shrubbery. Both mulch and overly dry potting soil can ignite easily.
- Completely douse butts and ashes with water before throwing them away. A smoldering butt in a trash can is enough to start a fire.
- Use a deep, fireproof ashtray outdoors. Empty it into a container with water and sand, not into a trash bag or bin.
- Never smoke near anything that can burn, including dry leaves, wood piles or outdoor furniture.
