TOPSHAM

The Topsham Fire Department responded to a small mulch fire in front of Best Buy in the Topsham Fair Mall Tuesday morning, believed to have been ignited by a discarded cigarette.

Firefighters were called to the mulch fire at 9:23 a.m. Topsham Fire Chief Brian Stockdale said there was roughly a 25-square-foot area that burned, likely due to a discarded cigarette — since a cigarette butt was found on the ground in the area that burned.

The crew quickly put it out and raked the area over so it wouldn’t ignite again. Crews had been to a similar fire near Best Buy over the weekend.

Stockdale said people should be wary of the danger in discarding their smoking materials and where they land — especially if it is in the mulch while waiting by traffic islands — because there is a danger of fires starting. Much of the mulch in medians along Route 196 has been replaced with stone or brick because the fire department was getting called out to fires in those areas multiple times a year.

Brunswick Deputy Fire Chief Don Koslosky said Brunswick has had a few unauthorized burns recently and responded to a fire in Durham apparently caused by some machinery starting.

Koslosky warned that people should be careful when burning on days like Tuesday when it is a Class 4 wildfire danger day with a red flag warning days in effect as, “obviously, the fire can get out of hand rapidly.”

Maine Forest Rangers and firefighters responded to wildland fires in Monmouth, Waldo, Winslow, Limerick, Bridgton and Sanford Tuesday. April and May often present fire danger days due to the dry weather and high winds. The public can check the wildfire danger report on the Maine Forest Service website at www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/wildfire_danger_report.

dmoore@timesrecord.com

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