A discarded cigarette caused a late Thursday morning fire at Pat’s Pizza in Hampden, leading to an evacuation and closing the restaurant for the day.

Officials said someone in the building’s upstairs apartment threw a cigarette down onto the pine mulch below, igniting the fire.

When the fire department arrived at 662 Main Road North, heavy smoke was rising from the side of the apartment and the building’s siding had begun to melt, said Jason Lundstrom, Hampden firefighter and emergency medical technician.

The lone, male tenant escaped the apartment by climbing down from a second-story window, Lundstrom said. The tenant was not injured and the apartment had only external damage, he said. No fire or smoke entered the building, and the firefighters did not use water inside the apartment.

The restaurant downstairs was evacuated as a precaution and the owners decided to close for the rest of the day in order to get inspected, Lundstrom said. Pat’s is expected to reopen today. (Toni-Lynn Robbins, BDN)

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A Bangor man was summoned for trafficking in dangerous knives after he attempted to enter U.S. District Court in Bangor around 1 p.m. on Thursday carrying a switchblade knife.

Court security stopped John St. Louis, 25, during a screening and discovered a black “stiletto type knife,” according to court documents.

When asked why he brought a knife to court, St. Louis replied, “I forgot I had it.”

Officer Christopher Blanchard told St. Louis the knife was illegal because it opened automatically. St. Louis said he did not realize it was illegal, according to court documents.

St. Louis is scheduled to appear at the same court where he was summoned on Aug 9. (Toni-Lynn Robbins, BDN)