Stray Cigarette in Garage Believed Cause of House Fire
A fire apparently sparked by a stray cigarette tore through a single-story home Friday morning, causing more than $90,000 in damage, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
About 30 firefighters responded to the 9 a.m. blaze in the 10400 block of Hillview Avenue in Chatsworth, said Fire Department spokesman Bob Collis.
The blaze started in the garage attached to the house, a rental property occupied by three men in their 20s. No one was hurt in the incident, Collis said.
“Apparently they were told by the landlord that they couldn’t smoke in the house, so they smoked in the garage,” Collis said. “One of them dropped a cigarette butt or ashes on a sofa.”
The fire caused $75,000 in damage to the structure and $15,000 in damage to the home’s contents, he said. It also scorched a nearby house and burned a Chevrolet Camaro parked in the driveway, Collis said.
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