These are not normal times, say fire officials, who say the dry soil and drought conditions are cause for concern for the smokers that choose to carelessly throw cigarettes on the ground.

Carrollton Fire Chief Jimmy Bearden said a fire at a Maple Street beauty salon Wednesday, which destroyed part of the store’s roof, exterior wall and entryway and some beauty equipment, appears to have been ignited from a burning cigarette.

Bearden said The Red Door salon owner Monrey Henkin told firefighters she had left the store about 15 minutes before the fire started from outside of the salon about 6:45 p.m. and threatened the adjoining Greek restaurant, Z’s, which had to be ventilated from the smoke.

Although fire investigators do not believe the fire was intentionally set, Bearden said the culprit appears to be a cigarette tossed into a pine wood flower bed near the salon’s front entrance.

“The flower bed was extremely dry and made out of pine bark nuggets that can ignite easily in the dry conditions,” he said. “We are concerned since we have not seen any significant rain in a while, and the grass is beginning to dry out, which makes it readily flammable.”

Zubeyde Yucel, who operates Z’s restaurant and owns the building that houses the salon, said she was inside the restaurant when someone at a carwash next door ran inside warning the building was on fire.

“We had three portable fire extinguishers that really helped,” Yucel said. “It was really horrible when we saw the flames. I’ve been here 20 years, and this is the first fire we’ve had. Everyone needs to be aware of how dangerous cigarette smoking can be - even if it is outside. If you smoke, you need to make sure that the cigarette is all the way out.”

Bearden said the drought and still-burning cigarettes tossed from moving cars along some of the city’s busiest streets - including South Park Street and Bankhead Highway - have sent firefighters rushing to extinguish burning brush and dried grass in the medians and along the shoulder of the roads.

“People need to be more alert and cautious with the dry conditions,” he said. “We believe several roadside fires have been started by cigarettes.”

Carroll County Fire and Rescue Chief Gary Thomas said the extremely dry ground conditions should make smokers more cognizant of where they choose to extinguish their burning tobacco products.

“You wouldn’t normally see a grass fire started by a cigarette, because the cigarette doesn’t usually burn hot enough to catch the grass on fire,” Thomas said. “Essentially though, these are not normal times. What was okay to do (in terms of lower risk of fire) before cigarettes is now dangerous. People should use caution when dealing with smoking material and live flames.”

Yucel said the use of the three fire extinguishers stored in the restaurant spared the restaurant from serious damage during the fire.

“If I could say one thing, it would be that everyone needs to have several of these in your home, office, work - everywhere,” she said.

Both Z’s and the Red Door salon will remain closed until the building can be repaired.

Anyone who tosses material onto the roadway could also face a possible fine for littering, and Bearden said a callous smoker who throws a lit cigarette and starts a fire causing property damage could also be held responsible for the damages.