Fire investigators have reached a conclusion on what caused a fire at the Meadowlark Hills apartments in Kansas

Fire investigators have reached a conclusion on what caused a fire at the Meadowlark Hills apartments in Kansas

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Fire investigators have reached a conclusion on what caused a fire at the Meadowlark Hills apartments in Kansas

The Overland Park Fire Department says it has reached a conclusion on the cause of an early morning apartment fire.

OPFD says an improperly discarded cigarette ignited the fire Thursday at the Meadowlark Hills Apartments

Fire investigators say 'carelessly discarded smoking material' caused the early morning blaze in the 9100 block of Robinson in Overland Park.

This is scene video from this morning's fire at the Meadowlark Hills Apartments. No injuries reported. Good job by crews on a very labor intensive fire. pic.twitter.com/LL6eMqeYHb

Investigators believe a cigarette put out in a rusted coffee can allowed the fire to ignite the deck and eventually an exterior wall of the two-story apartment building.

The department says twelve people have been displaced from six apartment units. The Red Cross is working with the apartment's management to find lodging for residents.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the fire.

The began just before 4:30 a.m. Firefighters made sure everyone was out of the affected building and began battling the fire, which was inside of an external wall of the second floor.

Because of the location, firefighters say it was difficult to put it out.

The fire is considered accidental by investigators.

Attached is a news release regarding the cause of this morning's fire at the Meadowlark Hills Apartments. pic.twitter.com/mrO1FEYHWB

Overland Park authorities said in a press release that they would like to remind smokers to completely extinguish smoking materials in sand or water before discarding them.

The department has more on smoking safety through their website.

According to previous reporting, this is the fourth time an apartment at Meadowlark Hill has caught fire since 2016. It caught fire twice in 2018.

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