Authorities in Camden County, New Jersey have announced the cause of a fire that destroyed 16 apartments earlier this week in Pine Hill.

It took crews over two hours to battle a three-alarm fire in the Pine Hill borough of southern New Jersey on Tuesday night.

After a devastating fire rips through an apartment building in Pine Hill, New Jersey, we’re learning about the simple mistake that likely sparked the massive inferno. Officials said an improperly discarded cigarette fell onto debris on a balcony and the flames started spreading in Camden County.

Over a dozen apartment units in the Pine Hill Mansions in Camden County, NJ, were destroyed in a fire that took at least two hours to put out.