Cigarette burns hole through deck at apartment building

FARGO (KFGO) –  The Fargo Fire Department responded to a deck fire at an apartment building late Monday morning.

Firefighters were dispatched to 4510 16th Avenue South at 11:45 a.m., which is just north of Happy Harry’s along 45th Street.

Battalion Chief Dane Carley says someone in a second floor apartment discarded a cigarette in a cardboard box and the deck caught on fire.

The damage was limited to one apartment deck.

“This time of year it gets to be more common because as it dries out people have discarded cigarettes over the winter and that trash is accumulated and then they throw a fresh cigarette butt in there and it ignites that,” Carley explained.

Carley urges people to make sure their cigarettes are completely out, and use a metal container to dispose of them.

“Some people use potted plants and the potting soil will actually burn this time of year because it’s so dry, so if you’re going to be out smoking on your deck a metal container is definitely the way to go.”

Fire officials say the fire risk increases in the spring after the snow melts and the vegetation hasn’t greened up yet.