Cigarette fire destroys Richland Co. house

A fire started by discarded cigarettes Sunday morning caused a blaze that did $150,000 worth of damage to one Richland County house and $30,000 worth of damage to a house next door, officials said.

A smoke detector that sounded during the predawn blaze at 110 Deer Lake Drive alerted sleeping occupants inside the house, Columbia-Richland County Fire Service interim chief Aubrey Jenkins said.
“We could very well be talking about two deaths,” Jenkins said. “The smoke detector probably saved their lives.”

Earlier in the evening, one of the people at the Northeast Richland house had gone outside on the patio to smoke, he said. Fire officials believe the fire started from those cigarettes or matches.
“If you go outside to smoke, make sure you properly dispose of your smoking materials,” Jenkins said.