Fire Department

Station 10 firefighters were alerted to a problem in the neighborhood when a young neighbor came to their door to report a small fire across the street. Engine Company 10, escorted by the 11-year-old, made their way to a patio area at one of the neighboring apartment complexes on Troy Drive. There, firefighters found a small (2x2-foot) patch of smoldering vinyl siding, along with remnants of a melted plastic pot. There were no active flames at the time, but firefighters did douse the area with a water can extinguisher to cool the area. A few heat-damaged siding slats were removed, and firefighters determined there was no extension to the sheathing underneath.

The occupant of the apartment came outside, unaware of the fire unfolding, and said he’d thrown out a cigarette in the plastic pot a while earlier, something he does all the time. Firefighters advised him to discontinue this practice and, instead, to discard his cigarettes in a proper receptacle.