A Sunday afternoon mulch fire ignited by discarded cigarettes damaged Einstein Bros. Bagels in Bel Air, causing the business to be closed pending an evaluation by the Harford County Health Department.
The fire was discovered shortly before 4 p.m. by the general manager of the restaurant, located in the 600 block of Marketplace Drive in Bel Air, according to a release from the Office of the State Fire Marshal. A total of 15 firefighters from the Bel Air, Abingdon and Joppa volunteer fire companies responded and brought the blaze under control in about 15 minutes.
Investigators traced the fire to cigarettes which ignited mulch just outside the building. Damage to the restaurant was estimated at $15,000 and damages to its contents were estimated at an additional $15,000, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office. The store remained closed Monday morning pending an inspection by the Health Department due to smoke infiltration throughout the structure.
I listened to this on the scanner and heard Bel Air Fire Company’s incident commander yelling like a little kid. Sounded like he had a mouth full of donuts while sucking on helium. I hear that guy a lot he needs to calm down
I heard the scanner feed too, I could have sworn he said something about “Jewish lightning” but I knew it couldn’t have been correct!
Smoking is such a pointless, nasty habit. Such a shame that anybody would deliberately defile their own health but they aren’t doing that in a vacuum either – we all pay for that even more so than before with Obamacare. Fat people and smokers gobble up health care dollars at rates far beyond what most of the rest of us will ever need or use. How’s about since the rest of us will already pay for your cancer treatments you at least put that nasty cigarette out where it’s supposed to be put out – in your own car ashtray rather than just flicking the thing on the ground – or worse tossing it out your car window.
You really are an idiot money tree.
MONEY TREE, I’m going to lit up a big ol dog turd, just for you.
From where this was, that would be an 8 feet plus flick of the cig. I don’t think so. So how is the view from up there where you get to judge from?
Apparently you never smoked. I did for 15 years back in the 80’s and 90’s and 8 feet is nothing… I could have done twice that distance. Apart from wondering how anyone can afford to smoke now, I’m astounded that I never realized just how bloody stupid I looked while doing it… you may think you look cool, but you really look like a gormless idiot. Smokers need to be popped for littering every time they flick a butt. They should run back the security tapes and try to prosecute the idiot.
Money tree left her iron unattended again
Although I don’t agree with all of Money Tree’s comments, it’s clear that someone did not put their cigarette out correctly. And for that person’s carelessness, that store owner, not to mention the community, has to suffer the consequences.
Can’t imagine how somebody would defend irresponsibly tossing lit cigarettes about and in this case nearly burning down a building – that building is somebody’s employment, somebody’s business, part of the tax base, et cetera. I stand by my point that as bad as it is to smoke at least have the decency and civility to put that stupid thing out in a defined “ashtray”. Flicking it on the sidewalk, out the car window or into a mulch bed is not good enough.