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Pot cigarette likely sparks Medford house fire By Ryan Pfeil Apr 27, 2018 12:00 AM A A Medford Fire-Rescue made quick work of a house fire Thursday night likely sparked by a discarded marijuana cigarette, confining the flames to a portion of the structure’s exterior before it got too serious. “There wasn’t a ton of damage, but it could have been significantly worse,” said Deputy Fire Marshal Tanner Fairrington. Crews responded at 9:13 p.m. to the house at Washington and Main streets. The homeowner noticed a fire in dry vegetation near the house. Four occupants — two adults, two children — made it outside safely and called 911. “(Firefighters) got there in time to put it out before it got more serious,” Fairrington said. Damage included some windows on the house, a portion of the patio, some vegetation and yard maintenance equipment, including two lawn mowers and a leaf blower. The likely cause of the fire was a discarded cannabis cigarette that had been stomped out near some dry leaves and pine needles 30 to 45 minutes before the flames were spotted, according to a Medford Fire-Rescue Facebook post. “Ash and embers from the discarded cigarette likely started a smoldering fire in the dry vegetation nearby and eventually reached flaming combustion and spread to nearby combustible materials,” the post said. Fairrington estimated the fire caused about $1,000 in damage. While on scene, crews installed a smoke alarm, as the home did not have one. Fire officials recommend discarding cigarette butts in a metal container filled with water to prevent such accidents. Reach web editor Ryan Pfeil at [email protected] or at 541-776-4468.