The boy’s 23-year-old mother told fire investigators that shortly before she left her apartment in the 200 block of 21st Avenue Southwest she’d smoked a cigarette.

She said she put the cigarette out and dumped the ashtray into a garbage bag on the balcony of her third-story apartment, Puyallup deputy fire marshal Guy Overby said Friday.

The bag caught fire, and flames spread onto the balcony and to the building, destroying much of the roof of the woman’s apartment, he said.

The mother has told Puyallup police she left her son alone because he was sleeping and there was no food in the apartment. She went to a fast-food restaurant to get food about 4:30 p.m. and returned 10 to 15 minutes later to find her apartment on fire.

Firefighters rescued the trapped toddler, who was checked out and returned to his mother’s care.

In addition to the mother’s apartment, residents of five other units were displaced. Investigators estimated the blaze caused at least $200,000 damage to the apartment building and its contents, Overby said.

The fire has been ruled an accident. Police have forwarded their investigation of the matter to Pierce County prosecutors, who will determine whether the mother should face criminal charges for leaving her son home alone.

Overby said it doesn’t take much for freshly discarded cigarettes and ashes to ignite and cause a larger fire.

“It’s not that uncommon either,” he said.

He advised using metal containers to discard ashes and fireplace debris. Never dump ashtrays into the garbage, he said.

“It’s just a recipe for disaster,” Overby said.

Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268

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