A shed fire occurred near the intersection of Columbia Avenue and Eight Street in Castlegar on Thursday afternoon.
Sarah Courtemanche, an employee at the Kootenay Family Place, said she discovered the fire while working.
“My office was located right beside the shed and I only noticed the fire because my window was open,” said Courtemanche.
The fire spread due to dry vegetation and quickly made its way underneath and inside the shed.
Castlegar Fire Department (CFD) crews responded to the incident at 4:25 p.m. and discovered that a cigarette butt had started the blaze.
Despite the growth of the fire, nine firefighters helped to put the fire out at approximately 5:05 p.m. No adjacent buildings around the shed were damaged.
CFD fire chief Sam Lattanzio said everyone needs to make sure their cigarettes are extinguished and properly disposed of during these hot and dry conditions.
People also should be putting their cigarettes out with ashtrays or metal containers and not with their foot, according to Lattanzio.
Lattanzio said he wants to give a shoutout to a passerby who helped put to out the blaze.
“Before we got to the scene, a man who was driving past the fire stopped, got out of his car and helped nearby employees who were trying to put the fire out with a garden hose,” said Lattanzio.
“The good samaritan worked with the group to help temporarily contain the fire, which was really nice to see.”
Two fire engines and a fire truck also responded to the blaze.
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