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All residents of the apartment complex were evacuated. One person was taken to hospital but their injury came when they tripped outside the apartment after the evacuation.

Deputy fire Chief Russell Croome said Monday the number of fires that have occurred from such an innocuous ignition source is “completely and utterly unacceptable.”

“This is where the community really needs to take ownership of this … if you permit smoking on your property, we need the property owner or agent to provide either a receptacle to dispose of the material properly or prohibit smoking,” Croome said.

“Whether you are a condo board or an apartment owner, you have the power to create those bylaws.”

Croome said most people do not realize that disposing of a cigarette into a potted plant can have such a “tremendous and negative impact.”

It is a recipe for disaster since cigarettes can smoulder for hours in highly combustible dried peat moss inside a plastic plant holder, Croome said.

He said the cause of Sunday’s fire was “not a malicious act,” adding that while charges could be a deterrent in future cases, “it’s our understanding that it is a very difficult act to successfully prosecute.”

Last year, $3.5 million worth of property was lost in 63 fires related to unextinguished smoker’s material.

In 2016 both numbers were much higher with $5.4 million in estimated property loss from 88 blazes.

In 2017, there were 63 fires related to smoker’s materials for an estimated $3.5 million in property loss.

“It’s really frustrating,” he said.

“We need building owners and operators to take responsibility for this and help curtail the number of fires we are having.

“And not leaving the smokers out of it, it is absolutely their responsibility to do that activity safely and unfortunately that’s not always the case.”

jgraney@postmedia.com

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