Improperly disposed cigarette caused Overland Park apartment fire that displaced 12
An improperly disposed cigarette was the cause of a Thursday morning fire at an Overland Park apartment complex that displaced a dozen people, according to fire officials.
Investigators said a cigarette put out in a rusted-through coffee can led to the fire just before 4:30 a.m. at Meadow Hill Apartments in the 9100 block of Robinson Street, said Jason Rhodes, a spokesman for the Overland Park Fire Department, in a news release.
The fire ignited a deck and spread to an exterior wall of the two-story apartment building, he said.
It took firefighters almost an hour and a half to extinguish the blaze, which left six units uninhabitable and displaced 12 residents, Rhodes said.
Apartment management and the Red Cross are working to find lodging for those residents.
The fire has been ruled accidental in nature. Overland Park fire officials also reminded smokers to extinguish smoking materials in sand or water before disposing of them.
