photo by: Elvyn Jones

Firefighters spray water on the front of a two-story house at 336 Elm St. in North Lawrence on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018.

A Saturday afternoon fire in North Lawrence was caused by a discarded cigarette, while the cause of a fire that was reported nearly simultaneously in west Lawrence remains under investigation, a Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical official said.

James King, fire marshal for Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, said the fire at a two-story wood-frame house at 336 Elm St. in North Lawrence was started accidentally on the front porch by a discarded cigarette. The fire was estimated to have caused $48,000 in damage to the rental house owned by Jan Hurst, of Lawrence.

That fire was reported at 2:18 p.m. Saturday, just six minutes before firefighters were dispatched to another fire at 545 Columbia Drive, which is the name and address of the building that is home to Keller Williams Real Estate of Lawrence, Next Gen Hearing, Movement Mortgage and Lawrence Dental Solutions. King said investigators were still interviewing the building’s different tenants as is routine.

John Esau, who is part owner of 545 Columbia Drive and a partner in the local Keller Williams franchise, said the building was vacant Monday, but a restoration crew was working inside the two-story structure. He said the real estate, mortgage and hearing aid offices should be reopened by the end of the week.

The dental office suffered the worst damage and will open in another location for about six months as the office is renovated, Esau said.

photo by: Elvyn Jones

One firefighter takes a breather in the shade of a firetruck while another heads inside the office building at 545 Columbia Drive to fight a blaze on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018.