Careless smoking is to blame after a fire at a St.Catharines apartment building last night.
The blaze at 165 Ontario Street sent one person to hospital for smoke inhalation and forced a brief evacuation of the nine-storey building.
Firefighters responded to reports of the fire on the fourth floor at 9p.m.
Crews quickly extinguished the fire and determined the cause was discarded smoking materials a tenant improperly disposed of before leaving the apartment.
The tenant returned home a short time later to find the apartment on fire.
Damage to the unit and building is estimated at $50,000.
The unit did not have a working smoke alarm and charges are pending.
Building occupants were evacuated while firefighters cleared smoke from the building and have returned home safely.
In an unrelated incident earlier in the evening on Oct. 18, one person was taken to hospital with second-degree burns due to a grease fire.
Firefighters quickly put out the small fire at unit 39 in the townhouse complex at 85 Westland St.
The occupants had just finished cooking with grease when the pot ignited.
The occupants removed the pot from the stove and spilled burning grease on themselves and throughout the kitchen while attempting to throw it outside.
Damage to the home is estimated at $2,500. The home had working smoke alarms.
Fire officials say turn off heat and cover pots with lids when dealing with grease fires.
Never use water on a grease fire or try to move the pot.