Residential, Townhouse / Condominium Branson, MO – Balcony fire at condominium building contained by sprinkler system September 21, 2015 viking210 The Branson Fire Rescue responded to a structure fire last Friday morning. According to a press release, reports stated that heavy black smoke was coming from the back side of one of the Vineyard Condominiums located off Missouri 376. “Upon investigation we discovered a fire had started on the wood deck material and extended up the railing and exterior wall,” Fire Captain Scott Cizek said. “Our crews discovered one fire sprinkler head above the deck had contained the fire.” The fire sprinkler activated automatically, which initiated the fire alarm where occupants evacuated the building. The probable cause of the fire could have been due to cigarettes not being fully put out according to the press release. “Upon investigation it was discovered the fire had smoldered for quite some time causing deep charring on part of the wood deck and railing. We could not rule out cigarette smoking material as a possible cause,” Division Chief Randy Fogle said. The press release stated that “firefighters encourage those using cigarette materials to properly extinguish cigarettes and place them in fire-resistant containers.” According to Fire Chief Ted Martin, lit cigarette fires often occur on these types of properties. “Unfortunately in multi-family dwelling properties such as condos and apartments, we see a lot of cigarettes tossed over balcony railings to the ground level, accidentally dropped between the decking materials, or discarded inappropriately in containers as simple as plastic planter pots,” Martin said. The press release did not mention any injuries or people harmed.
