SALEM - A discarded cigarette was blamed as the cause for a porch fire in the 400 block of Aetna Street just after noon Wednesday.
A police officer responded to a 911 call of a fire at 450 Aetna Street, the property of James Peck, and saw smoke coming from the front of the house and found a neighbor spraying a garden hose on the front porch. The neighbor said he was inside and heard some crackling outside.
He said he came outside and used the garden hose to spray the fire. When firefighters arrived, they found smoke and flames showing and called in the rest of the department. They took the porch apart to make sure all hot spots were put out and make sure there was no extension of the fire.
The fire was contained to the front porch. The inside of the residence was checked and nothing was found.
