The Columbus Fire Department responded to the River Stone Apartments Wednesday afternoon after a fire was discovered on a second floor patio deck. Capt. Mike Wilson, department spokesman, says that firefighters were called to 3460 Limestone Lane shortly after 3 p.m.

Wilson says that firefighters arrived on the scene to find a smoldering wooden patio deck and melted vinyl siding on a second floor apartment. Firefighters also found that a third floor sprinkler head had activated and was still flowing water on the smoldering materials below. Firefighters marked the fire under control within minutes of arrival.

Columbus Fire Department investigators determined that the tenant had been smoking a cigarette outside. The tenant told investigators that he had placed a lit cigarette on a cardboard box, with the intention to briefly enter the apartment and then return to the patio deck. The tenant told investigators that he became distracted while inside the apartment and forgot that he had left the cigarette on the cardboard box.

As firefighters surveyed the damages, they found that the origin of the fire was near an external storage closet located on the patio. At the time of the fire the storage closet door was closed. Inside the closet were additional cardboard boxes stacked from floor to ceiling. The closet door was a fire rated door which protected the contents for at least one hour. Additional damages were noted to the vinyl siding on the second floor apartment’s exterior as well as fire damages to the bottom of the third floor wooden patio decking.

The cause of the fire has been ruled accidental and damages are estimated at $3,000. Investigators say that damages were greatly reduced as a result of the sprinkler system.