Cops: Cigarette sparks Roslyn Heights fire

A man smoking in his attic in Roslyn Heights sparked a fire that caused extensive damage after he "carelessly disposed" of the cigarette early Tuesday, Nassau County police said.

The man, 25, and his mother, 54, both escaped the house on St. Marks Place unharmed, police said. They were not identified.

Police said the fire was reported at 1:12 a.m. after the woman smelled smoke and discovered the house was ablaze. She woke her son and the two fled before firefighters arrived, police said.

About 75 volunteers from the Roslyn Heights Fire Department responded with 10 pieces of equipment and extinguished the fire. A subsequent investigation by the Nassau Fire Marshal's Office determined the fire started "when the son carelessly disposed of a cigarette in the attic of the home," police said Tuesday.