NFPA Journal - November/December 2017 - 81

been sitting on a living room couch for
a long period of time and had heated to
the point that the couch ignited.
The house was equipped with a
single smoke alarm in the living room,
but it was not operational.
The house was a one-and-a-half-story
construction with a ground-floor area
of 1,450 square feet (135 square meters).
It was a wood construction and had an
asphalt shingle roof.
The building and its contents were a
total loss.

SOUTH CAROLINA
Cigarette ignites fire that claims life
of resident
Investigators blamed a cigarette for
igniting a house fire that claimed the
life of an elderly female resident.
Firefighters were dispatched to the
scene at 10:36 p.m. following a 911 call
by a neighbor. Upon arrival, crews found
light smoke showing from a two-story
dwelling. In the course of performing

the initial 360-degree size-up of the
fire, crews found the occupant near
the rear entrance. Crews immediately
removed the victim and began providing
advanced life support. The victim was
transported by ambulance to the hospital, where she later died from smoke
inhalation and burn injuries.
Firefighters extinguished the fire,
which was in the smoldering state and
confined to a couch.
Investigators indicated that a cigarette
ignited combustible furnishings and
spread to the couch. They noted that the
victim was on home oxygen therapy but
could not determine whether she was
smoking when the fire started.
Although the house was equipped
with smoke alarms, investigators indicated that they were not operational.
The house was not equipped with an
automatic sprinkler system.
The house was a wood-frame construction with a ground-floor area of
1,213 square feet (113 square meters).

The fire caused an estimated $50,000
in damage to the house, valued at
$155,000, and an additional $10,000
in damage to the contents, which were
valued at $75,000.

NORTH CAROLINA
Resident dies when kerosene fuel
ignites house fire
An elderly woman died in a house fire
that began when an occupant tried to
refill a kerosene heater while the heater
was still operating.
Firefighters were dispatched to the
fire at 2:30 a.m. following a phone
call from one of the home's residents.
Newspaper accounts indicated that
the house was fully engulfed in flames
when firefighters reached the scene.
Nearly 30 firefighters were reported
to have responded to the fire, and the
scene was not cleared until 8:30 a.m.
Investigators reported that the fire
began when kerosene fuel ignited
while an occupant was refueling a hot

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - November/December 2017
