PORTLAND — An Oct. 21 fire that damaged a Woodfords Corner home was caused by improper disposal of cigarettes.

Assistant Fire Chief Keith Gautreau said the blaze at 79 Lincoln St., reported around 9:45 a.m., may have been smoldering for hours before it flared up.

The home, a two-story owner-occupied and rental building, began on the second-floor deck. Gautreau said the owner, who lives on the first floor, began smelling smoke the night before the fire broke out.

On the morning of Oct. 21, Gautreau said, the smoke odor was even stronger, and the owner discovered fire on the deck. She unsuccessfully tried to extinquish the fire herself, and left the door to the deck open when she left the apartment, Gautreau said. That allowed the fire to spread inside and up to the attic.

“It ended up going to a second alarm very quickly,” he said. Although the blaze was under control in about 30 minutes, it caused moderate to heavy damage to the building’s exterior and some damage inside.

No residents were hurt, but a firefighter injured his knee. He was treated and released at Maine Medical Center, Gautreau said.

The Oct. 21 fire that damaged this home at 79 Lincoln St. in Portland was caused by improperly discarded cigarettes, Assistant Fire Chief Keith Gautreau said Oct. 23.