Cigarette caused condo fire, official says

PORT CLINTON – A cigarette ignited mulch and caused a fire that damaged the outside of a condo Saturday afternoon on Lakeshore Drive, the fire chief said.

No one was hurt. The fire destroyed some bushes and caused less than $2,500 damage to the outside of the first-floor condo at Clinton Reef Club condominiums, Port Clinton fire Chief Kent Johnson said.

"We saw a few (cigarette) butts there in that area," he said.

The smoke alarm caused residents of the 300 building of Clinton Reef to evacuate, and many stood outside and watched as the firefighters worked. Some residents started dousing the burning bushes with water before firefighters arrived, Johnson said.

The fire was reported about 4:20 p.m. Smoke reached the third floor, but the damage was confined to the first-floor condo.

Fire officials do not know who discarded the cigarette, and the path next to the condo was heavily traveled between a marina on the Portage River and Lake Erie, Johnson said.

The resident of the damaged condo, who did not want to be identified, said he was inside when he saw the bushes outside his sliding-glass door on fire.

He ran outside and saw people throwing water on the flames before the fire department arrived. He had just gotten to the condo and was getting it ready for the season.

mksmith@gannett.com

419-334-1044

Twitter: @kristinasmithNM