A lit cigarette is believed to set the apartment 24 South St. near Rhode Island line on fire at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, January 24.
As reported, the fire gutted the front door of the first floor of the apartment and there were around 12 to 15 people in the building at that time. Fortunately, they all were successfully evacuated and no casualties have been reported so far. Some children were also in the building at that time and they all have been rescued safely. The damage to the property has been estimated around $3,000.
The investigations are going on under the supervision of Sargent Firefighter Rick Steward to find out the real cause of the fire. It is believed that the fire was caused by a lit cigarette left at the door of the first floor. Some people reported that they saw few kids smoking cigarette roughly half an hour before the fire broke out. However, they were still speculating if these kids were residents of the same building.
According to witnesses, as soon as people saw smoke coming out, they ran triggering a stampede and stepping over each other. A person fell down on the second floor but did not receive any damage. A woman reported that she had to run down in her bath robe to escape from being burnt alive. She is reported to be safe. Firefighters also saved two pets from the site.
A resident stated that people had already left the building by the time firefighters showed up. As it was very chilly outside, firefighters helped people to get warm in their station. Deputy fire Chief Erik Jones informed that the fire had been contained within an hour and residents returned to their home by 2:30 pm.
It has been a second fire-related accident in this building over the last several months.
256
