Fire at RJR Exec’s Home Blamed on Cigarette
A discarded cigarette was the probable cause of a fire that destroyed the luxury vacation home of the president of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and caused $1 million in damages, said firefighters in Wilmington, N.C. The three-floor beach home of Reynolds President Andrew Schindler on upscale Figure Eight island was reduced to a row of charred pilings after it caught fire while construction workers were at lunch Friday. Damage to the house was estimated at $750,000. Damage caused to houses nearby by flying embers as the fire raged was estimated at $250,000. Fire officials said inspectors had not made a final determination about the cause of the accidental blaze. But they said it likely was caused by a cigarette butt left by a worker. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco is a unit of RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.