United Group Insurance

Discarded cigarette causes fire outside Atlantic motel

News

March 19th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

A discarded cigarette that blew up under some siding caused a smoldering-type fire this (Tuesday) afternoon, at a motel in Atlantic. The incident at the Super 8 Motel on east 7th Street was reported just before 4:30-p.m.   The manager had tried to put the embers out with a couple of fire extinguishers, but was unsuccessful, and notified the fire department. Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees told KJAN News the cigarette managed to make its way into a crevasse between the siding and the concrete foundation, that was not much bigger than 1/4 to 1/2-inch wide. It started smoking between two layers of siding, and the smoke began to filter into a suite on the east side of the Motel.

Guests in the room noticed the smoke and notified the manager. No injuries were reported. McNees said there was some damage to the siding and smoke inside the motel room, but the damage was not major. If the fire had gone unnoticed for a great length of time, there could have much more significant damage to the structure. Fire crews were on the scene for less than 30-minutes.