Columbia condo fire could have been caused by smoking materials

The cause of Thursday’s fire at Spencer’s Crest Condominiums in Columbia could have been caused by improperly discarded smoking materials.

Although the cause of the fire was undetermined, Battalion Chief and Fire Marshal Jim Pasley said smoking materials cannot be ruled out. The fire started at the second-floor deck and caused about $250,000 in damage, Pasley said.

The building is an eight-plex, and four units sustained damage. One firefighter had non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Boone Hospital for evaluation and released. There were no other reported injuries.

LIVE playback of the scene is available in the player below.

The call to Spencer’s Crest Condominiums in the 3800 block of Saddlebrook Place went out a little after 4 p.m. on Thursday. Firefighters at the scene reported seeing smoke and flames when they arrived, and police were called in to close the road.

Crews brought the fire under control in about 30 minutes and were looking for hot spots after putting out the flames.

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