Cigarette

An improperly discarded cigarette was the preliminary cause of a fire that damaged a home Friday night at 11315 Grouse Lane east of Hagerstown, the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office said. The fire started at about 11:19 p.m. on the rear deck of the two-story townhouse, according to a fire marshal's office news release. The damage was estimated at roughly $55,000 to the structure and $5,000 to the contents. Thirty-nine firefighters took about 25 minutes to control the blaze, the fire marshal's office said.

A Hagerstown man suffered extensive facial burns that could be life-threatening after he tried to light a cigarette while using home oxygen Wednesday afternoon, according to a Community Rescue Service, Inc. spokesman. Rescue crews were alerted about the incident in the 200 block of Prospect Street about 3:25 p.m., Assistant Chief Dave Hays said. The man was taken to Meritus Medical Center for treatment, Hays said. The Hagerstown Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the accident, he said.

LAPPANS - A fire at a Lappans Road home this morning was caused by a cigarette, Maryland Deputy State Fire Marshal Ed Ernst said. Ernst said the 7:29 a.m. reported fire at 18036 Lappans Road started in the bedroom of the single family split foyer house. He said a woman had been smoking in the room and the cigarette ignited the blaze, which was contained to the bedroom. He said damage was estimated at $10,000. The bedroom sustained the most damage and the rest of the house smelled like smoke.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A cigarette thrown from a vehicle Monday struck the windshield of a police cruiser and led to the arrest of a man and women on drug charges, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Cortney Lamarr Jenkins, 22, of 48 Bambi Drive, Inwood, W.Va.., was arraigned by Magistrate Harry L. Snow on two counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, according to court records.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A discarded cigarette might have caused a fire that damaged a mobile home Monday afternoon, according to an officer with the Bedington Volunteer Fire Department. Damage to the double-wide trailer at 342 Imperial Way in Midway Mobile Home Park was estimated at $15,000 to $20,000 by the department's Assistant Chief Andrew DeHaven. No one was injured in the fire, which appeared to start in the kitchen after the owner left the Marlowe, W.Va.-area home for work about 90 minutes earlier Monday, DeHaven said.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- Waynesboro firefighters were at the Better Days Animal League Thrift Store at 22 W. Main St., Thursday morning clearing smoke from the building. Fire Chief Dave Martin said the department was called around 10 a.m. for reported smoke and odor in the building. The conditions were caused by a boiler being dismantled by workers in the basement, he said. Both lanes of Main Street are open, but the alley alongside Susquehanna Bank is closed to traffic. Discarded cigarette ignites fire at town house WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- A cigarette discarded into mulch Thursday morning caused about $3,000 damage to a town house at 395 Viewpoint Way, Waynesboro Fire Chief Dave Martin said.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - A public housing unit heavily damaged by a fire caused by a cigarette Thursday will be open to the public today to show neighbors what happens when fire strikes. Waynesboro Fire Chief Dale Fishack said the fire occurred in a public housing unit rented to Anthony Metz, 39, of 529 Pratt Court. Neither Metz nor his son, Michael, 10, were home at the time. Fishack said the fire started when a cigarette or cigarette ashes were dropped onto a couch. The fire was discovered by a passerby at 7:25 a.m., 11/2 hours after Metz left for work.

Lewis C. Metzner never thought much about giving up cigarettes. He thought kicking the habit would be too difficult, said Metzner, who began smoking when he was about 11 and began puffing seriously toward the end of law school 20 years ago. A bout with a virus in early April led to an unintentional break from smoking, but it was a pledge the Hagerstown City Councilman made to his dying father that he believes will keep him free of the habit...

Hagerstown Mayor Robert Bruchey has called on city police to adopt a zero tolerance for crime. Under such a policy, someone who throws a cigarette on the ground could be charged with littering. The theory is that by focusing on minor offenses, police can prevent more serious crimes. What do you think? Call today or tomorrow by 7 p.m. You don't have to leave your name. We'll print your responses in Thursday's paper. 301-791-6899

Police seized 310 cartons of cigarettes from a vehicle that was stopped at a Martinsburg-area Sheetz on Wednesday, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court documents. Oda Qarqat, 46, of Bogota, N.J., was arraigned Thursday on charges of no operators license and transportation of unstamped cigarettes or tax-not-paid tobacco products by Magistrate Robert L. Lowe II, according to court documents. Qarqat was in Eastern Regional Jail Thursday night on $9,000 bond, according to court and jail records.

Hagerstown police are looking for a person who robbed a Sheetz convenience store at gunpoint Wednesday morning. The robbery at 700 Potomac Ave. was reported at 4:57 a.m., police said in a news release. A male wearing a ski mask and a dark sweat shirt or jacket brandished a handgun and demanded cigarettes. After receiving an undisclosed amount of cigarettes, he fled on foot, according to police. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Hagerstown Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at 301-790-3700.

A Brooklyn, N.Y., man was placed on probation for 11 months and fined $35,000 after pleading guilty Monday in Washington County Circuit Court to conspiring to smuggle 2,568 cartons of cigarettes through Maryland. Abdelaziz M. Abdelaziz, 43, pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport unstamped cigarettes in the July 10, 2012, incident. Assistant State's Attorney Arthur Rozes told Judge Daniel P. Dwyer that a home in Powhatan, Va., had been under surveillance by agents from the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Virginia Attorney General's Office for possible cigarette smuggling.

A New York City man charged with trying to smuggle 805 cartons of cigarettes through Maryland forfeited the $30,000 worth of smokes and received a $5,000 fine after pleading guilty Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court to transporting unstamped cigarettes. In addition to the forfeiture and fine, Judge Donald E. Beachley placed Henry Avigail Badia, 34, on probation before judgment and a year's supervised probation. Under probation before judgment, Badia, who had no criminal record, could have his record cleared if he successfully completes probation.

A Bunker Hill, W.Va., couple on trial for allegedly abusing five children in their custody were portrayed Wednesday in Berkeley County Circuit Court as “the bully and the mean girl” who punched them, hit them with spoons and inflicted other forms of punishment for no apparent reason. Christina Snyder, 44, was indicted by a Berkeley County grand jury in February 2010 on five felony counts of child abuse causing bodily injury, and Nathan Allen Snyder, 29, was indicted on 13 counts.

The Maryland Comptroller's Office said its Field Enforcement Division confiscated 8,000 packs of contraband cigarettes in Washington County on Thursday. The comptroller's office wrote in a news release that Henry A. Badia, 33, of New York, N.Y., was charged with transporting contraband cigarettes, a felony, and possession of contraband cigarettes, a misdemeanor. Badia was driving a vehicle with New Jersey license plates on Interstate 70 near Hagerstown, the news release says. The vehicle was confiscated and Badia was released on $3,000 bond, the comptroller's office said.

The Maryland Comptroller's Office and Maryland State Police from the Hagerstown barrack stopped two vehicles earlier this week that authorities allege were carrying 26,000 packs of contraband cigarettes worth $154,000 across state lines, law enforcement officials said. The traffic stops resulted in charges against a Philadelphia man and three men who live in New York, according to a comptrollers office news release. Mohammad T. Issa, of College Point, N.Y., was charged with one count of transportation and possession of contraband cigarettes in the State of Maryland.

A Hagerstown man suffered extensive facial burns that could be life-threatening after he tried to light a cigarette while using home oxygen Wednesday afternoon, according to a Community Rescue Service, Inc. spokesman. Rescue crews were alerted about the incident in the 200 block of Prospect Street about 3:25 p.m., Assistant Chief Dave Hays said. The man was taken to Meritus Medical Center for treatment, Hays said. The Hagerstown Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the accident, he said.

A woman who said she intends to open a do-it-yourself cigarette-rolling business told Washington County liquor officials on Wednesday that she wanted to apply for a liquor license to sell tip-jar tickets. Arlene Greer said she wanted to open the business in the same building as Keystone Sporting Goods at 13611 Pennsylvania Ave. Robert Everhart, chairman of the Board of License Commissioners for Washington County, said liquor licenses are required for businesses that want to sell tip-jar tickets.

One of the joys of Satellite radio is that you get to hear all the low-budget, filler advertisements that they run when, for one reason or another, they have empty air time to fill. You really get the jump on the latest scams, snake oil and fringe products well before they hit national consciousness. These are the companies that will eliminate your back taxes, buy you up a mess of gold bullion, get you out of your credit-card debt, refinance your house, give you six-pack abs without diet or exercise and communicate with your deceased dog. They do a big, initial ad run, and then you normally don't hear from them again until they're featured on "60 Minutes.