Cigarette could be culprit of Rock Hill apartment fire

A cigarette may have started a fire that burned part of a Rock Hill apartment building early Wednesday.

The fire was called in about 3:45 a.m. at Patriot’s Crossing Apartments on Patriot Parkway. It appears to have started in a first floor unit, said Deputy Chief Mark Simmons of the Rock Hill Fire Department.

“The fire was spreading from the vinyl siding on the breezeway to the gable and roof area on the second floor,” Simmons said, adding that most of the fire was exterior.

Simmons said the fire originated outside the building in a landscaping bed.

“Improperly discarded smoking materials cannot be ruled out as the cause,” he said.

No injuries were reported and no residents were displaced. The fire caused about $20,000 in damage, and the cause remains under investigation.

This story was originally published September 16, 2015 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Cigarette could be culprit of Rock Hill apartment fire."