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The Flower Mound Fire Department is reminding residents to be cautious with discarded cigarettes, which are believed to have been the cause of a fire that burned several pieces of cardboard Tuesday in the back of Sprouts Farmers Market.
Firefighters responded to a call at 5:34 p.m. when some pallets and cardboard containers caught on fire near the loading dock of the store, located at 2301 Cross Timbers Road.
No injuries were reported in the fire, which was contained to the back of the store. But fire marshal Mike Smith said the fire was likely caused by several discarded cigarettes near the back door.
“We found several cigarettes butts … several,” Smith said. “This is the time of year when you have to be cautious. You look at all the grass fires in the area over the last couple of days. These high winds only make it worse.”
Smith pointed to the fire Thursday in Fort Worth as an example of how dry and windy conditions make it easy for fires to occur. A grassfire began at Gateway Park, located several blocks north of Interstate 30 and east of Beach Street, following a fireworks display in conjunction with a softball game.
Flower Mound firefighters spent nearly four hours at Sprouts since they had to soak the cardboard several times and then move it. The Lewisville Fire Department also assisted.
Smith said two roll-off containers were filled with burned debris. Firefighters sprayed the piles of cardboard with water and used a forklift to remove them from the area. He said the fire came close to hitting two propane cylinders.
“They worked their tails off,” Smith said of the firefighters. “Nobody was hurt, but people got really hot.”
No structural damage was done to the store, though Smith said the back of the building will likely require repainting and resealing.
