Discarded Cigarette In A Planter Cause of Fire in Fairfield

Fairfield–Around 6:30pm Tuesday firefighters arrived to find a fire in the exterior rear of 673 Old Stratfield Road. The fire had traveled up approximately 15′ and a neighbor was attempting to extinguish it with buckets of water. Engine 2 attacked the fire with an 1 3/4″ hand line. Ladder 2 entered the structure and opened up a first floor wall to check for extension. There was minimal extension inside the wall bay and a portable extinguisher was used inside the house. The fire was extinguished it had burned a small portion of the deck, approximately 50 sq. ft. of siding and some shrubbery.
The fire appeared to originate in a planter sitting on the railing. The fire burned up the side of the house in a V pattern. There was some drop down into a landscaped area with mulch and shrubs. The occupant stated she was cleaning the house for her brother (the owner who was on vacation) had been smoking and placed a discarded cigarette into the planter. The planter contained a moss type material versus a pure dirt. She became alerted to the fire when saw smoke on the back deck area and went to investigate. Based on the witness statement, the physical evidence and burn pattern it was concluded that the discarded cigarette ignited the material in the planter and it spread to the vinyl siding and extended up the house. It was also determined to be accidental. There was approximately $6000 damage. There were no injuries to occupants or firefighters.