Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012 | 8:17 p.m.
Apartment fire
An apartment in an eight-unit building was heavily damaged by a fire caused by a cigarette, Clark County fire officials said.
Firefighters were called to 5100 E. Tropicana Ave. about 5:30 p.m. Saturday and evacuated the building. The two-alarm blaze caused minor injury to one of the two occupants of the apartment and caused an estimated $150,000 in damage.
The Clark County fire department provided these tips to avoid fires or to be safe if there is one:
• Never smoke in bed.
• Do not put ashtrays on the arms of sofas or chairs.
• Water down your ashes. Empty ashtrays into the toilet or an airtight metal container. Warm ashes dumped in waste cans can smolder for hours, then ignite.
• Never toss hot cigarette butts or ashes in the trash. In Las Vegas, where windy conditions are common, wind and hot cigarette butts can pose a fire hazard.
• Do not leave cigarettes, cigars or pipes unattended. Extinguish all smoking materials before you walk away.
• Smoke outside a home and use a sturdy ashtray or can filled with sand to collect ashes.
• If you begin feeling drowsy while watching TV or reading, extinguish your smoking materials in a safe container.
• Close a matchbook before striking and hold the match away from your body. Set your cigarette lighter on “low” flame to prevent burns.
• Never smoke in a home where oxygen tanks are used.
• Have a fire evacuation plan and practice it with your family. Practice at least two escape routes from your home in the event of fire, and teach your family to meet at a predetermined meeting place outside the home.
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