GREENFIELD — A cigarette tossed into an armchair caused a Greenfield home to catch fire Sunday afternoon, badly damaging the structure and igniting much of its contents, officials said.
Crews from the Greenfield Fire Territory were called to a home on the city’s east side around 2:45 p.m. Sunday after neighbors noticed smoke and flames coming from the structure.
The fire department’s investigators determined Monday the fire started by a discarded cigarette that ignited the furniture. The flames spread throughout the home, damaging much of the contents inside, officials said.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe structure, located in the 1000 block of E. Sixth Street, was a foreclosed-upon house and is repairable, should the bank that owns it decide to make the fixes, firefighter Corey Breese told the Daily Reporter Monday.
But everything inside the home was destroyed, Breese said.
A total estimate of the damage was not immediately available.
One person was inside the home when the fire started and escaped without injury. He was taken to Hancock Regional Hospital from a precautionary check when first-responders fought the blaze.
Neighbors called 911 after spotting the fire. One caller reported seeing flames breaking through the upstairs windows of the home, according to emergency dispatch records.
The fire was under control within 10 minutes of fire crews arriving on scene; but it took firefighters another 30 minutes to douse the flames entirely.
Greenfield crews — as well an engines from the Sugar Creek Township Fire Department and an ambulance from Seals — were on scene until nearly 5 p.m. Sunday to ensure the fire was completely out.
Fire marshals returned to investigate Monday. They learned the cause of the fire but had not at press time determined what, if any, connection the man transported to the hospital Sunday had to the structure.