Careless smoking leads to apartment fire

A police officer was treated in hospital for possible smoke inhalation after a fire on Hughson Street North Saturday morning that caused $30,000 in damage. The Hamilton Fire Department said the blaze began on the balcony of a seventhfloor unit at 195 Hughson St. N. and extended into the apartment. No other units in the building were damaged, said department spokesperson Claudio Mostacci. The cause of the fire was attributed to “careless disposal of smoker’s material from an upper-floor balcony which ignited combustible items.”