Ciggie blamed for CBD apartment block fire

A discarded cigarette likely caused yesterday’s fierce blaze at a CBD apartment complex.

MFB investigators believe a cigarette ignited combustible materials on a 22nd floor balcony of the Neo-200 building on Spencer Street yesterday morning.

Flames, believed to have been fuelled by combustible cladding, spread between six floors in only five minutes.

Victoria’s Planning Minister Richard Wynne yesterday revealed there is a list of buildings with high-risk cladding, but it can’t be made public for fear of arson.

Melbourne City Council’s building surveyor issued an emergency order after the fire, saying the building could not be occupied for 48 hours.