NORTHAMPTON — Fire officials believe a discarded cigarette sparked an early morning fire in a vacant storefront on Center Street on Wednesday.
Heat from the overnight fire shattered the front glass window of the property at 18 Center St., next door to the Iron Horse Music Hall. The building is owned by Central Chambers Realty Trust, according to property manager Caroliee Weigel, who was on scene Wednesday morning assessing the damage.
“It could have been so much worse,” she said.
Neither Weigel nor fire officials had a cost estimate of the damage as of 8 a.m.
Police were nearby responding to an unrelated noise complaint when they heard the building’s fire alarm go off, Deputy Fire Chief Timothy McQueston said. That was around 1:20 a.m.
“They kept it at bay until fire crews showed up,” he said.
McQueston said the fire, likely caused by a “smoldering object” tossed on the window sill from outside, took about 15 minutes to extinguish.
“It was pretty straight forward,” he said, estimating that the building likely was built in the 1800s. “This shows the importance of working alarm systems.”
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.