Cigarette-spawned fire guts Perkins Restaurant

That column looks solid, but it is made of a composite material that goes up pretty quick Fire officials say a cigarette tossed into mulch outside Perkins Restaurant and Bakery on Hurstbourne Parkway started a blaze that gutted the business and led to the injury of two firefighters. via The Courier-Journal

[Danny]

Sweet! Next time you want to start a fire just light a match...chemically dependent moron.

[Sarcastically Yours]

Danny wrote:

Sweet! Next time you want to start a fire just light a match...chemically dependent moron.

You would think if the mulch is that flammable it would be banned around a place of public assemblage.

[Lisa]

Why don't smokers just be responsible and squash out their cigarettes?????

[hotelguest]

I was in staying the Hoilday Inn behind the restaurant when the fire occured. I have also eaten at Perkins numerous times. I have a hard time beliveing that a cigarette in mulch caused this fire. I have never seen mulch that was that flammable. On top of that, almost all of the walls outside were left standing even after the fire was contained and put out. How does a fire start in the outside, move inside and destroy everything and not take out the outside walls. Not to mention that the vidoes that I've seen show all the fire on the inside of the building. Why did the outside not burn as much? I'm not saying that a cigarette didn't cause it. It just seems strange to me I guess.

[Not Quite Right]

hotelguest wrote:

I was in staying the Hoilday Inn behind the restaurant when the fire occured. I have also eaten at Perkins numerous times. I have a hard time beliveing that a cigarette in mulch caused this fire. I have never seen mulch that was that flammable. On top of that, almost all of the walls outside were left standing even after the fire was contained and put out. How does a fire start in the outside, move inside and destroy everything and not take out the outside walls. Not to mention that the vidoes that I've seen show all the fire on the inside of the building. Why did the outside not burn as much? I'm not saying that a cigarette didn't cause it. It just seems strange to me I guess.

Fire Investigator's Unwritten Rule - When in doubt if it is inside it is electrical and when it is outside it was smoking.

[tazunemono]

hotelguest wrote:

I was in staying the Hoilday Inn behind the restaurant when the fire occured. I have also eaten at Perkins numerous times. I have a hard time beliveing that a cigarette in mulch caused this fire. I have never seen mulch that was that flammable. On top of that, almost all of the walls outside were left standing even after the fire was contained and put out. How does a fire start in the outside, move inside and destroy everything and not take out the outside walls. Not to mention that the vidoes that I've seen show all the fire on the inside of the building. Why did the outside not burn as much? I'm not saying that a cigarette didn't cause it. It just seems strange to me I guess.

I have seen two mulch fires in the past month in the area around where I work, both necessitating a response from the Louisville Fire Dept. Mulch fires can be very dangerous, especially in hot dry conditions as the winds can accelerate the blaze.

[tazunemono]

As I said, I've seen two fires in new mulch in the past month (April) and these fires end up being a waste of firefighter's time. The responsible party should be found and billed accordingly, possibly even charged with harsher offences. In the case of the Perkins restaurant, arson. Don't thow your butts out of the window either! Jeez people, it's called littering! Last time I checked, cars still come with ashtrays.

Privilege comes with a price...responsibility!

[eye hate trash]

Let me guess the city this happened has a smoking ban that required the removal of all ashtrays "and other smoking paraphernalia".

[Tired]

Lisa wrote:

Why don't smokers just be responsible and squash out their cigarettes?????

It would be nice if they could. The anti-littering laws need to be enforced and the smokers fined for tossing butts, especially lit butts. What smokers do not realize is that if they continue to be irresponsible, we will just increase the strength and the breadth of the bans further limiting the places that they CAN smoke and continue to exponentially increase the taxes on cigarettes. There is no excuse for tossing a butt on the ground. Mash it out and if there is no recepticle, put it in your pocket and keep it until you can find a place to put it. The reason most smokers do not want to do that is because the butt stinks. Well, I got news for the pro smokers. Smoking stinks period. Keep the butt with you until you can dispose of it properly.

[So Let Me Ask]

So if the butt stinks and they carry it into a building and throw it in the trash (because there is probably no butt cans outside the building)just imagine the whining then.

"those stinky smokers keep bringing their smelly butts in here and mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi- mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi"

[glensmark]

tazunemono wrote:

As I said, I've seen two fires in new mulch in the past month (April) and these fires end up being a waste of firefighter's time. The responsible party should be found and billed accordingly, possibly even charged with harsher offences. In the case of the Perkins restaurant, arson. Don't thow your butts out of the window either! Jeez people, it's called littering! Last time I checked, cars still come with ashtrays.
Privilege comes with a price...responsibility!

As a matter of fact the new cars do NOT come with ash trays unless you order the smoking package which will add a few hundred dollars to the price. they add 3-4 ash trays and a couple of lighters. Most cars on the lots do not have the smoking package.

[cardsfan]

I work there. The fire actually started the day before the place went down in flames. It was indeed a mulch fire. The media has left out some important details and someone is going to really get in trouble over what actually happened.

[Cotton]

cardsfan wrote:

I work there. The fire actually started the day before the place went down in flames. It was indeed a mulch fire. The media has left out some important details and someone is going to really get in trouble over what actually happened.

Thats a shame!!! Are they going to rebuild or is it a total? Has work started yet? Hate to hear that for you!

[just candid]

We can be glad no one was killed, often fires started by cigarettes kill people.

[just candid]

I hope the employees can be use at other locations,or soon find new jobs.

[zac efron]

just candid wrote:

We can be glad no one was killed, often fires started by cigarettes kill people.

Often fires at restaurants, are caused by idiot workers, who have brains like candid.

[triple6vamp]

zac efron wrote:

<quoted text>
Often fires at restaurants, are caused by idiot workers, who have brains like candid.

He/she uses AOL whats that tell ya...LMAO !!

[Kent]

Sign in just candid's shack reads: "Please doesn't throw butts in piss pot. It makes them soggy an' hard t'light! Fry mah hide!”

[just candid]

Tired wrote:

<quoted text>
It would be nice if they could. The anti-littering laws need to be enforced and the smokers fined for tossing butts, especially lit butts. What smokers do not realize is that if they continue to be irresponsible, we will just increase the strength and the breadth of the bans further limiting the places that they CAN smoke and continue to exponentially increase the taxes on cigarettes. There is no excuse for tossing a butt on the ground. Mash it out and if there is no recepticle, put it in your pocket and keep it until you can find a place to put it. The reason most smokers do not want to do that is because the butt stinks. Well, I got news for the pro smokers. Smoking stinks period. Keep the butt with you until you can dispose of it properly.

Some people think chucking cigarette butts is just littering, imagine that.

[just candid]

tazunemono wrote:

<quoted text>
I have seen two mulch fires in the past month in the area around where I work, both necessitating a response from the Louisville Fire Dept. Mulch fires can be very dangerous, especially in hot dry conditions as the winds can accelerate the blaze.

Yes summer and fall are very bad and smoking cigarette butts cause a large number of fires. I can recall 6-7 fires caused by smokers just in this area(Frederick county Md) this last fall.