Large fire at 55-and-over condo complex destroys 10 units

STUART, Fla. – A large fire at a Florida condominium complex has destroyed at least 10 units.

The Martin County sheriff’s office says a section of the Cedar Pointe Villages complex in Stuart was engulfed by flames on Monday night. Firefighters contained the flames at the complex, a community for people 55 years or older near the Atlantic Ocean.

Sheriff William Snyder tells WPTV in West Palm Beach the man who lived in the corner apartment where the fire started told investigators he dropped a lit cigarette and “the next thing he knew there was smoke in his apartment.” The sheriff says a neighbour saw flames and smoke and called for help.

No serious injuries have been reported.

The Cedar Pointe Villages complex has 62 two-story buildings divided into eight villages.