PASADENA : Cigarette Sets Bed Afire, Killing Woman
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A 65-year-old woman who apparently fell asleep while smoking a cigarette died early Tuesday after her bed ignited and fire swept through her Pasadena home, fire officials said.
Investigators believe that Donna June Durham awoke and tried to escape but collapsed on a sofa. Firefighters broke through security bars to enter the home in the 700 block of Elmira Street and carried Durham outside, but she was pronounced dead at the scene, apparently from smoke inhalation, said Pasadena Fire Department Battalion Chief Fred Law.
Deputy Fire Marshal Harry Crusberg said the woman might have been saved if the house had been equipped with a simple fire safety device.
“A smoke alarm in the home could have made a big difference,” Crusberg said.
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