Cigarette eyed as cause of porch fire in Saugus

SAUGUS – Saugus firefighters said a cigarette may be to blame for a deck fire that destroyed part of a balcony at an apartment complex off of Route 1 South Tuesday afternoon.Firefighters received the call at around 1:50 p.m. Tuesday for a fire at the Suntaug Estates condominium complex at 9 Broadway. Capt. Donald Shea said a neighbor saw flames on the third floor balcony.?Apparently, someone diagonally was looking out and saw the flames going up the side of the balcony,” said Shea. “They ran around the corner through the lobby and knocked on the door and told them, and I guess they started grabbing pails of water while the neighbor called 911.”Shea said fortunately the fire was on the top floor and there was no “lip” on the roof for the fire to catch.Shea also said the damage was all outside and no one was injured or displaced.?There were some shingles, some patio furniture,” he said. “They were very lucky. The neighbors had a garden hose and buckets of water, and we had pressurized water cannons. Luckily we got it before it extended into the structure itself.”Firefighters left at around 3 p.m. as a cleanup crew arrived on the scene.Saugus Fire Chief Donald McQuaid said they?re investigating a “potential cigarette.”?It?s not a lot of damage, but there is some structural damage,” said McQuaid.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].