Cigarettes stuffed in a wall starts fire in apartment building | 911

Smoldering cigarette butts stuffed inside a wall is being blamed for a small fire that forced the evacuation of an apartment building near 33rd and Rainier on Sunday morning.

Firefighters were called to The Dakota at Rainier Court around 9 a.m. after an automatic fire alarm went off on the seventh floor of the building. There was heavy smoke in the hallway when they got up to the floor. In the meantime, many residents of the building had gotten out as firefighters arrived.

The fire was traced to a spot in the wall near the floor’s standpipe, and was put out within 10 minutes. There were no injuries.

Investigators found a large number cigarette butts stuffed inside the wall where the fire was found. They determined that some of the butts likely weren’t put out before being put inside the wall, eventually leading to the wall catching fire.

Damage is estimated at $2,000.