The Pickens County Fire Department and the Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner’s Office have ruled Sunday’s fatal house fire on Derby Lane in Jasper, Georgia accidental.
The fire claimed the life of Katheryn Patrice Singer Avery. The 66-year-old was found dead in the basement of her home after the blaze was extinguished.
Officials say fire fighters responded to the fire in the single-story home around 4 a.m.
Georgia’s Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King said the 2,000 square foot residence was almost destroyed. He said the majority of the top floor had collapsed by the time the officers began to put out the fire.
King revealed that careless smoking while using oxygen probably played a role in the fire although it can’t be directly linked to the start of the blaze.
Avery’s body was turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab and will undergo an autopsy.
Two unnamed individuals were able to escape from the burning home. One suffered minor injuries while the other was unharmed.
Avery is said to be the twelfth victim to die in a Georgia fire for the year so far.
The state fire marshal said Sunday’s fatal fire was one of two linked to smoking in the past week.
On Thursday, fire officers had to remove 47-year-old Melony Pass, from a burning home off 4th Avenue in Griffin. She died in hospital.
King said the fire started in the front bedroom and resulted from the misuse of smoking material near a bed.
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