Cigarette butt nearly causes holiday house hassle

A Melfort homeowner’s watchful eye prevented a potential Christmas catastrophe.

The Melfort Fire Department and other emergency services responded to a home on Kennedy Dr. on Friday after the owner noticed smoke coming from his crawl space.

First responders noticed light smoke, but no visible flames or anything burned from the inside. After searching outside, Fire Chief Shaun Stewart said the cause was a cigarette butt from the previous night that wedged in between a concrete pad at the backdoor and a rim joist of the house.

“A lot of people smoke, no big deal, but a butt can at the back door… it would have totally eliminated this,” Stewart said. “The same thing happens in the summer time. Some people think they can butt it out in a plant or something… the next thing you know it wasn’t fully done and the plant goes on fire beside the house.”