Man used wooden balcony as ashtray. It caught fire
A Modesto man who was using his wooden balcony as an ashtray started a fire there Wednesday morning.
The man had been putting out his cigarettes in the holes of his apartment balcony in the 200 block of West Rumble Road.
On Wednesday, one of those cigarettes was still burning. The fire was contained to the balcony and quickly extinguished by the Modesto Fire Department.
“We don’t suggest wedging a cigarette with a tip that can reach 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit into a wooden deck or railing as you can see the potential outcome in this case,” said Lt. Dave Hutchison, commander of the Stanislaus Regional Fire Investigation Unit.
He said people should properly dispose of smoking materials in places like sand or water-filled metal containers.
This story was originally published August 15, 2018 at 5:44 PM.