UPDATE: Fire at former flower shop caused by cigarette

UPDATE: A two alarm fire at a former flower shop near 27th and Randolph Sunday morning was started by a discarded cigarette.

Fire investigator Donald Gross said construction crews had been working and swept up a debris pile.

In their pile they swept up a discarded cigarette, which smoldered overnight, and eventually ignited early Sunday morning. 

Inspector Gross said damage is minimal and estimated it a $1,000. 

More information is available below. 

Lincoln Fire and Rescue battled a two alarm fire at a former flower shop in southeast Lincoln Sunday morning.

The fire broke out near 27th and Randolph in the former House of Flower shop just before 8:00 a.m. 

A passerby called 911 and reported smoke coming from the building.

When LFR arrived flames were coming from inside the old store.

“We found a relatively small fire inside and were able to quickly extinguish it. Right now we’re just primarily focused on removing the rest of the smoke from the building,” said Battalion Chief Jeremy Gegg.

LFR says damage from the fire is minimal, but there is smoke damage throughout the building. 

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.