The wooden front porch of a house on Palmer Street caught fire Tuesday afternoon, and officials say a discarded cigarette could be to blame.
Though there are a few probable causes — including a discarded cigarette — the fire, which wasn’t higher than one or two feet, has not been linked to an official cause, said Bob Troxel, Athens Fire chief.
“There is a high possibility of a discarded cigarette, that’s all it could have been,” Troxel said. “We’ll most likely file the cause of the fire as undetermined because we’re unsure if a cigarette was the actual cause.”
The Athens Fire Department was called to 8 Palmer Street after a neighbor noticed the porch was on fire.
While senior Andrew Petras was doing homework in the 8 Palmer Street house, he noticed his neighbor, senior Andrew Sabio, trying to get his attention by waving his arms.
“I saw a bunch smoke coming outside on the top balcony,” Sabio said. “I didn’t see any flames, but there was definitely something wrong.”
Petras said he put the fire out after it was brought to his attention, and that his neighbors placed the call to the fire department.
“When I saw my neighbor waving, I grabbed the fire extinguisher and put it out,” Petras said. “I smoke occasionally, but it couldn’t have been a cigarette because I haven’t smoked today. It’s weird, I have no idea how it started.”
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