Loudoun County warehouse fire caused by lit cigarette: officials
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. - A lit cigarette is to blame for a warehouse going up in flames in Northern Virginia, causing millions of dollars in damages.
Thick black smoke was seen from miles away in Loudon County on Monday afternoon when the fire was sparked around 3 p.m.
Prospect Waterproofing is the company that owned the warehouse on Acacia Lane in Sterling and used it to store commercial building materials.
"It's amazing how fast the building up, and that's from a lit cigarette," said Jim Stamer, company president. "I'm sure the person knows. Did they mean to do it? We'll find out who it was. Did they mean to do it? I don't think so - the people who work here are fantastic. I don't think anybody had ill will toward us."
Stamer said at the end of the day, they're most grateful there were no injuries. In fact, they were back out on job sites a day later - you have seen their work on the Reston Gateway, Capital One, and in buildings throughout downtown D.C.
There are about 50 people in and around the warehouse and nearby office buildings at all times, Stamer said. The company has been around since the 1980s.
It took nearly three hours for crews to contain the two-alarm blaze.
Loudoun County warehouse fire
Officials said the size of the warehouse, along with the hazardous materials burning, is what made it so difficult.
The fire marshal's office only took a day to determine it was a lit cigarette outside the building that caused this massive amount of destruction.
And it's not just the building and materials that were lost, Loudoun County Asst. Fire Chief Travis Preau said their gear was damaged as well.
"When you have tar that's heated up, it becomes a liquid, and it got on their gear and as it cools, much like tar does, it hardens. So I believe we have 50 sets of turnout gear or firefighting ensemble that had to be sent away, and our hope is that they are able to be repaired and cleaned, and we don't have to destroy them," Preau said, adding that roughly 900 feet of fire hose and a nozzle were also damaged.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, the 2021 national estimates for residential building smoking fires and losses show there were 7,800 fires, 275 deaths, 750 injuries, and $361,500,000 in losses.
Preau said they often see median fires caused by people tossing lit cigarettes from car windows.
Officials want this to be a warning to folks - dispose of cigarettes in water or sturdy ashtrays, and don't use mulch or potting soil because those can be flammable.