Overview:
A carelessly discarded cigarette caused a multi-alarm fire in downtown Lebanon that spread to an adjoining building and displaced 15 residents, officials said.
A carelessly tossed cigarette on a rear balcony caused a multi-alarm fire that spread to an adjoining downtown building and displaced 15 residents, according to Lebanon city officials.
Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello and Fire Chief A.J. Sweitzer told LebTown that a lit cigarette was thrown into a smoking receptacle on an upper floor rear balcony at 736 Cumberland St., then flared up and spread to the attached building at 734 Cumberland St.
The first floors of 734 and 736 Cumberland were occupied by the temporarily closed Downtown Lounge and Level Eleven Marketing. Both had apartments on their upper floors.
Initial reports said that over 20 tenants in the two buildings were displaced, but Capello said on June 30 that the number has been revised to 15.
Because the fire started outdoors, the firewall between the two buildings was bypassed, according to Sweitzer. Firewalls, sometimes referred to as party walls, are designed to stop an indoor fire from spreading to an attached building.
Sweitzer said the fire has been ruled accidental. He added that the person who threw the smoldering cigarette into the container has been identified, but did not name them.
Responding to criticism made to CBS 21 by a displaced tenant, who said that the city should have done more to aid residents, possibly with some sort of cash assistance, Capello said the city does not keep a fund for disaster victims, which would have to be funded by city taxpayers. Instead, she urged tenants to buy rental insurance.
“For $10, $13 a month, you can get all of your possessions, your furniture, your clothing, and things like that, replaced,” she said.
A local insurance agent contacted by LebTown confirmed that renters’ insurance providing $25,000 of coverage for personal property, with a $500 deductible, generally costs about $10 to $12 a month and also protects a tenant from liability for injuries to others or their property.
Referring to the displaced tenant quoted in the CBS 21 report, Capello said that “the lady that they interviewed called my office around … 4:20 p.m. on the day of the fire. She was upset because she said she only got $350 from Red Cross. … My assistant told her to come in and meet with the mayor, but she never came in.”
Later in the afternoon, Capello said she left two phone messages for the tenant, which were not returned, and then spoke with the woman’s brother, who said he would relay information to her. As far as Capello knows, the tenant did not get back to anyone at the city.
Then, Capello continued, “I went over close to 5:00 to try and find [the displaced tenant] in the alley behind the Downtown Lounge.” She spoke to several people there who said the tenant had been there, but had left.
Capello said that she takes complaints seriously from those who have undergone a catastrophic event, and she can understand how they might feel at the moment.
“No, we don’t have a fund for fire victims. We’re here to talk to you, to help you, and to line you up with the Red Cross and get you $350, which you can use for a hotel if you don’t have a friend to go to or a family member. Or to get clothing, if you can’t get clothing temporarily. I mean, yes, it’s devastating. I feel for them.”
“Please get renter’s insurance,” said Capello. “I’m going to do an educational piece on that. I’m sure no one will listen to me, but I’m going to try.”
Another complaint raised by the displaced tenant was that the city doesn’t inspect rental properties or doesn’t inspect them often enough. “Start inspecting your buildings. Start doing your jobs,” the tenant was quoted as saying. The tenant also shared with CBS 21 an un-published photo supposedly showing a fire extinguisher that was last inspected in 2023.
Sweitzer pointed out that no inspection can stop someone from carelessly smoking. Even an inspection done hours before wouldn’t have stopped someone on the outdoor balcony from negligently tossing a lit cigarette.
Sweitzer added that, as far as he knew, no one at the city had been shown the photograph of the fire extinguisher cited by the tenant, or was told that it didn’t work properly, so there’s no way to know if it might have been a personal fire extinguisher of the type frequently sold by outlets such as Lowe’s or Home Depot. Those extinguishers, he said, have 10-year lifespans, can’t be refilled, and, unlike fire extinguishers mandated in commercial buildings, are not required to be inspected.
There are over 6,600 known, licensed rental units in the city. Capello says there are certainly more unlicensed units, which can only be found if reported or if city employees discover them while doing other duties.
The city currently has six building inspectors in its Department of Public Safety, having recently hired someone to replace a retiree. Capello says they conducted 635 designated rental inspections in 2023, 607 in 2024, and at least 500 in 2025. The mayor said that a new software system has so far prevented a final tally of 2025 rental inspections.
Those inspectors are also responsible for other types of safety inspections, such as exteriors, garbage, graffiti, grass and weeds, and sidewalks. Documents provided by Capello show inspections of all types totaling 1,765 in 2025, 1,825 in 2024, and 1,824 in 2023.
According to Capello, the city has the right to inspect every rental unit at least once every four years, but the limited number of inspectors makes that difficult. Most inspections, she said, are triggered by complaints or by city employees discovering violations while performing unrelated duties. In those instances, the city tries to get an inspector out the same or next day.
Capello said the city also tries to emphasize inspections of properties with large numbers of residential units, and places less emphasis on “single unit” rentals, such as duplex homes where one side is rented and the other owner-occupied or where there is a single apartment above an owner-occupied first floor.
Commercial buildings in the city are inspected by the Lebanon Fire Department. 418 inspections, 129 follow ups, and 54 fire drills were conducted in 2024, according to Sweitzer.
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