Skip to main content

Hwy 11 business heavily damaged after cigarette butt put out in planter sparks flames

Fire causes damage to a business on Highway 11 in Gravenhurst, Ont., on Wed., May 24, 2023. (Source: Gravenhurst Fire/Twitter) Fire causes damage to a business on Highway 11 in Gravenhurst, Ont., on Wed., May 24, 2023. (Source: Gravenhurst Fire/Twitter)
Share

Fire officials say a cigarette butt discarded in a planter box caused significant damage to a business in Muskoka overnight on Tuesday.

The fire sparked and spread to an exterior wall at the business on Highway 11 North in Gravenhurst, burning a hole through the wall.

Fire causes damage to a business on Highway 11 in Gravenhurst, Ont., on Wed., May 24, 2023. (Source: Gravenhurst Fire/Twitter)

Officials say crews were called when the fire alarm sounded to find the flames spreading into the building.

The damage estimate isn't immediately available.

Fire crews say not to extinguish cigarette or joint butts in plant pots that often contain peat moss, shredded wood and bark that are easily ignited.

"Instead, dispose of them in large, deep ashtrays that can't be knocked over!" Gravenhurst Fire posted on Twitter following the fire.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Ontario mother scammed out of $1,800 in Taylor Swift ticket scam

An Ontario mother lost $1,800 hoping to get Taylor Swift tickets for her seven-year-old daughter. 'I don't understand how someone could just take advantage of someone and their hard-earned money, and it was a gift for a seven-year-old girl,' Dana Caputo, of Tottenham, Ont., told CTV News Toronto.

Stay Connected