Bird Carries Lit Cigarette Back To Nest - Burns Down Both Nest And Office Building [View All]

[matcom]

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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) -- A giant bird's nest littered with dozens of cigarette butts is leading investigators to believe that a feathery firebug may have torched a Huntington office building.

Fire Capt. David Bias said a pigeon or another kind of bird may have carried a smoldering cigarette into the Ratcliff Place on Jan. 10. Either that, or the mere volume of decomposing material in the nearly 5-foot-wide nest found in a ceiling may have combusted.

It's just a theory at this point, Bias said, one that he's "taking a good bit of ribbing over."

"People are telling me we should have a pigeon lineup," he said Wednesday.

Actually, fire investigators haven't ruled out anything yet, Bias said. That won't happen until they receive lab results back on evidence sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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