Cigarette may be to blame for fire at Yuma home

Yuma firefighters said a discarded cigarette may have been the cause of a fire that severely damaged a home Monday morning.

Mike Erfert, public information officer for the Yuma Fire Department, said that just before 7 a.m. a fire was reported in the 900 block of South 12th Avenue. Upon their arrival on scene, firefighters found heavy smoke and fire coming from the home.

Erfert said firefighters were able to quickly bring the fire under control and a search found that no one was in the residence. The home's residents were later located and it was confirmed no one had been there at the time of the fire.

The fire originated in a back bedroom that sustained heavy fire damage to the room and contents, with other parts of the house damaged by smoke. Erfert said one of the residents had been smoking in bed in that room earlier, and the cause of the fire is believed to be due to carelessness when discarding the cigarette butt.

“Smoking in bed is very dangerous,” Erfert said. “Many fatal fires start when the victim falls asleep while smoking.”

Erfert cautions that if you smoke, the safest place to do it is outdoors, and smoking materials should always be completely extinguished before being discarded.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.