Smoking Blamed for Fire That Displaced 25 Families

The state fire marshal says careless smoking sparked a fire that displaced 25 families living in a South Florida apartment building.

Battalion Chief Joel Gordon says an occupant in the Plantation apartment where the fire started admitted he had been smoking. Gordon tells the Sun Sentinel that the resident’s attempt to extinguish the fire himself delayed a call to 911.

Officials say the fire was confined to two apartments. At least seven other apartments in the three-story building were damaged by smoke and water.

Gordon says that because the building wasn’t required to have a sprinkler system, firefighters had to hoist hoses to the third floor to fight the blaze.