Cigarette fire damages apartment above Mineola restaurant

A careless smoker caused a small fire in an apartment above a Mineola restaurant Thursday morning, a county fire official said.

The third-floor fire above the Shakers Restaurant caused minor damage, primarily confined to a window, said James Hickman, head of the investigations division at the Nassau County fire marshal's office.

The blaze started at 11 a.m., police said, and Mineola Boulevard was shut down for about half an hour as firefighters doused the flames.