When East Lansing City Council decided to ban indoor upholstered furniture from outdoor spaces last year, the issue ignited a heated debate.

But in light of Friday's townhouse fire that reportedly began after a sofa caught fire on a porch, city officials are pointing to the ordinance as a way such incidents could be prevented.

Under the ordinance passed in August 2003, upholstered furniture is prohibited outdoors, and violators will be issued a $100 civil infraction after receiving a warning.

Deputy City Manager Jean Golden said the number of visible sofas outside has dropped since the law was added.

"We've been enforcing it very strongly," she said. "This fire is all the more reason to continue to do so."

Golden said the ordinance angered some people who thought it was overly restrictive, but the city has an obligation to protect the well-being of its citizens.

"We have to be thinking of people's safety even when they are not," Golden said.

"So many campus communities across the country have experienced real tragedies," she said.

Golden added that other college towns, including Ann Arbor, have contacted the city, requesting information on its furniture ordinance.

Ann Arbor officials have been trying to pass a similar law since June, when a rental home ignited after two upholstered love seats on the porch caught fire, according to a report by Ann Arbor Fire Inspector Doug Warsinski.

Ten residents were forced to escape, three of them jumped from the second floor.

If approved, Ann Arbor's policy would charge a $100 fine.

Warsinski said the polyurethane foam in sofas is "solid gasoline" and can emit toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and cyanide.

Weathered couches can be even more flammable, and careless smokers add to the chances of starting a fire, he added.

The study also said sofa and chair fires make up 4.4 percent of the fire-related calls in Ann Arbor.

Outdoor furniture was the cause of 15 percent of off-campus apartment and rental house fire deaths from 2000 to 2004, according to national statistics from Campus Firewatch, an online newsletter distributed by the Center for Campus Fire Safety.

The national center tracks fire-related incidents on and off campuses around the country and monitors legislation concerning fire safety at universities.

But some students believe an ordinance for upholstered furniture outside isn't needed.

"Anything can start a fire, but you can't ban everything because it starts a fire," kinesiology sophomore Alyson Jessel said.

Councilmember Beverly Baten said it is fortunate that those involved in Friday's fire are safe, but that the sofa's presence outside probably will still be addressed.

"If it's arson or not, the fact (is) that the couch was out there," Baten said. "Ignorance is no excuse."

Staff writer Jun Yang contributed to this report.