SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. — An image snapped outside a Spotsylvania County fast-food restaurant illustrates the danger of improperly discarding cigarette butts.
The Spotsylvania County Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Management posted a photo of a bush engulfed by intense flames after a cigarette butt sparked a fire in a flowerbed.
Officials said the fire broke out at the McDonalds in the 5200 block of Mudd Tavern Road on Friday, April 13.
“This was a recent mulch fire started by a cigarette that was not properly disposed of,” officials posted on Facebook. “Thankfully, one of our crews was able to extinguish it before it spread further which could have resulted in additional damage to property or life.”
Fire crews stressed the importance of tossing out cigarettes and ashes in an “unburnable (and unmeltable) can filled with sand” and offered these tips:
- Put cigarettes out all of the way.
- Don’t walk away from lit cigarettes and other smoking materials.
“How you dispose of your cigarette butts may make all the difference in the world,” officials said.
