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caption:
Fire
Top: Members of the Putnam Fire Department break the windows to vent smoke after a fire at 55 Van den Noort St. Nov. 14. Above: East Putnam and Putnam fire department personnel look over the scene. Linda Lemmon photos.
Cigarette
caused fire
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM --- Putnam Fire Marshal Norm Perron said the fire that displaced 10 people Nov. 14 was caused by the improper disposal of a cigarette. He ruled it accidental.
The blaze at 55 Van den Noort St. most heavily damaged the two-story addition to the mansard-style multi-family building.
That addition contained an apartment on the first floor and a porch on the second. The fire started on the porch.
Perron said his investigation included interviewing residents and talking with fire personnel. To determine whether an accelerant had been used, Perron talked to the firefighters who entered the building first, after the fire was knocked down. No one smelled any accelerant. "No one smelled any accelerant so that eliminated that," he said.
Interviews with the residents determined it was caused by the improper disposal of a cigarette.
Perron said this is the third fire in Putnam related to cigarette smoking this year. One was on Battey Street and the other was on Mantup Road.
The Putnam Fire Department and the East Putnam Fire Department responded to the structure fire around 4 p.m. Nov. 14.
The Attawaugan Fire Department stood by for rapid intervention dispatch.
There were no injuries and crews rescued two turtles.
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