Brunswick fire caused by careless smoking, fire marshal says

Feb. 04--A fire that tore through several businesses and apartments in Brunswick on Sunday was caused by the careless smoking of one of the apartment tenants, according to the county fire marshal.

The fire caused extensive damage to four businesses and three apartments that were built above the businesses in the first block of West Potomac Street. Fire marshals traced the fire's origin to one of the apartments by analyzing burn patterns and talking to residents and others present, said Battalion Chief Kenny Poole, the fire marshal for the Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services. Through further interviews with residents, investigators confirmed the fire sparked from a cigarette.

"We were already leaning that way yesterday, but [the investigator] wanted to go back out to the scene today to talk to some people again before we made an announcement on the cause," Poole said when reached for comment Monday.

Poole declined to discuss details regarding what led to the cigarette causing the fire, describing the story told to investigators as "convoluted," but the determination of the cause itself was beyond doubt.

Because the fire was ruled an accident, Poole said criminal charges were not likely to be filed. Similarly, Scot Lessler, who owns the property, said he was not considering legal action against the tenant responsible, as of Monday. Instead, Lessler said he wanted to focus on moving forward.

"I think those are really architecturally significant and I do have insurance and I've been working with different insurance adjusters and building consultants and others to see, if it is at all architecturally feasible, which I believe it is, rebuilding and restoring those properties," Lessler said.

As of Monday, Lessler had already contracted the Paul Davis Restoration & Remodeling company to assist with the restoration of the properties.

Renovating and fixing the buildings will not be affected by the new temporary downtown demolition moratorium passed by the city council at its last meeting, said City Administrator David Dunn.

Under the moratorium, buildings cannot be completely removed, but they may be renovated, Dunn said.

The fire marshals office placed the damage estimate from the fire at approximately $300,000 as of Monday, but that total was likely to rise, Poole said.

The American Red Cross was called to assist at the scene Sunday and a total of 11 occupants were displaced as a result of the fire. Rescue personnel treated five people at the scene and ultimately ended up taking two people to the hospital for injuries that were later deemed not to be life threatening.

Lessler said he was just glad the injuries were not more serious.

"I really want to thank all the people -- from the first responders and the American Red Cross -- and all the people who really stepped up at a time like this to help," Lessler said.

Staff writer Heather Mongilio contributed to this report.

Follow Jeremy Arias on Twitter: @Jarias_Prime.

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