Firefighters from the City of Fairfax Fire Department responded to a fire at a Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services facility at 10603 West Drive.
On Wednesday, May 18, at about 11:55 p.m., Engine 403 of the City of Fairfax Fire Department arrived on the scene of a carpentry shop where a fire had started in a plastic trash can inside the shop.
The fire may have smoldered for several hours before igniting the wall, according to the City of Fairfax Fire Department. When the first unit arrived, firefighters saw smoke coming from the building and turned a hose on it.
Truck 402 arrived a moment later and firefighters forced their way into the building and opened two roll-up doors for ventilation. The fire was brought under control within five minutes without any injuries, the department reported.
City of Fairfax Fire Department investigators classified the fire as accidental, but it may have been started by a cigarette that was disposed of improperly.
Ed Clark, spokesperson for the City of Fairfax Fire Department, said no specific evidence pointed to a cigarette being the cause of the fire, but no other causes appeared likely. No electrical outlets were located nearby and the materials in the can were not prone to combusting, Clark said.
This sort of incident is fairly common for the start of a fire, said Clark, who warned that residents need to be cautious when disposing of lit materials such as cigarettes. "A lot of our fires are from things just like that," Clark said.
— Ari Cetron