Cigarette Likely Cause Of Fatal Fire At Arlington Condo Complex
ARLINGTON (CBS) — An improperly discarded cigarette likely caused a four-alarm Arlington fire that killed one person as it tore through a condominium complex early Tuesday morning.
Flames broke out just before 4 a.m. at the Brookside Condominiums on Arizona Terrace.
Some residents were woken up by a police officer knocking on their doors, urging them to get out in a hurry.
"When you see a cop running that fast, it startles you," one resident told WBZ NewsRadio 1030. "You came out and it's kind of like a volcano, just ash falling from the sky, it was unreal."
Investigators said initial reports indicated everyone inside escaped safely.
But a man was later found dead on the third floor during a room-by-room search. His name has not been released.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said late Tuesday afternoon it appears a cigarette thrown into mulch outside one of the condo buildings sparked the fire and allowed it to spread quickly.
"A man died in this fire and tragically the situation was completely avoidable," said Ryan. "The fire started because someone carelessly disposed of smoking materials, most likely a cigarette. It appears that mulch caught fire and the flames quickly spread to a wooden balcony and stairway."
State fire marshal Stephen Coan said the building did not have a sprinkler system.
Thirty-six units and some cars in the parking lot were damaged or destroyed.
"We'll all have to find another place to live," resident Ralph Chang told WBZ-TV in an email.