SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio fire officials say a discarded cigarette is to blame for a fire that evacuated four people and damaged a home on the Northeast Side.
The fire was called in around 4:30 a.m. in the 100 block of Covina Avenue, not far from Eisenhauer Road and Loop 410.
Firefighters said a woman had been smoking before going to sleep and was using a styrofoam cup as an ashtray.
Fire officials said it appears the cigarette wasn’t out and that it burned through the cup, setting her bed and a couch on fire.
The woman told firefighters that the smoke along with the smoke detectors woke her up. She said she felt like she was choking and woke to a room of smoke.
Authorities said someone inside the home used a garden hose to keep the flames at bay until firefighters arrived, and that they put out the fire before it spread beyond the room.
The damage estimate is between $5,000 and $15,000 fire officials said.
All four adults inside the home made it safely out. No one was hurt.