A carelessly discarded cigarette was the cause of a devastating fire in Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood earlier this month, firefighters say.
The Oct. 7 blaze wrecked three homes in the 1000 block of East Pender Street and displaced 11 people, according to Vancouver Fire Rescue Services.
A cigarette butt was flicked at the back of one house, igniting combustibles in the area which then spread to trees and neighbouring homes, the department said in a social media post Wednesday revealing what sparked the massive fire.
“One cigarette butt, one ignition source can cause a lot of destruction,” Capt. Matthew Trudeau told CTV News. “Our reminder really here is the only source of discarding a cigarette butt or ignition source is in a metal container of water or sand, nothing else.”
VFRS says that smoking materials, which include cigarettes, are the most common cause of fires in Vancouver, making up 59 per …