Save the glass shards littering the ground and the distinct smell of a bonfire, no one would know a fire happened here just three nights ago.

In a sleepy area of town a few miles from campus, Marvin Gardens apartment 13 remains boarded-up from an early Tuesday morning fire, which has been officially ruled accidental, Centre Region Fire Marshal Walter Wise said.

The apartment 13 resident, present at the time of the fire, told police the fire ignited from a cigarette he was smoking on the living room couch.

Alpha Fire Co. fire Chief Stanley Clouser said the tenant fell asleep while smoking the cigarette and woke when the fire was spreading.

The flames ignited at about 2 a.m. in apartment 13, 211 Easterly Parkway, State College Police Sgt. Mark Argiro said Tuesday.

Clouser said the fire was contained in about an hour to apartment 13, which incurred "extensive" fire damage. Adjoining apartments suffered smoke damage, and basement apartments sustained water damage. No serious injuries were reported.

Inside the stairwell leading up to room 13, the normally cream-colored walls are streaked with soot.

The air is thick and difficult to breathe, but the dim sound of a television could be heard coming from the apartment across the hall. The smoke detector in apartment 13 was found on the floor, although Wise said he thinks it was on the ceiling before the fire.

He added that a piece was missing from the smoke detector, which could have caused a malfunction.

"I can't say if it was [operable] or not [before the fire], but I don't think it was," Wise said.

Wise said lack of smoke detector maintenance has been an "epidemic" in the area for a while -- it's an issue of upkeep that the tenants are responsible for.

"Tenants don't take good care of their smoke detectors," he said. "The landlord can't be expected to bust in and check to see if their smoke detectors are working."

Clouser said firefighters reported smoke detectors without batteries and some inoperable for unknown reasons, specifically in other apartments near apartment 13.

A statement from the Centre Region Code Administration is pending.

Rodney Hendricks, Marvin Gardens landlord, also owns a house at 500 E. Beaver Ave., which sustained fire damage in April 2005 and resulted in the death of Penn State senior Christopher Raspanti.

Hendricks is facing negligence charges in connection with the fire, which was allegedly caused by faulty electrical wiring.

After Raspanti's death, the State College Borough Council and other officials launched several updated fire safety codes, including updated smoke detector standards.

"This year, before school starts again, everybody will have to be in compliance with new rules for better smoke detectors," he said.