The cause of a deadly Fresno house fire could be ‘smoking material’

A fire in a north Fresno home that claimed the life of one person was likely started by a cigarette or other lit tobacco product, investigators said.

Fresno Fire Department spokesman Hector Vasquez said a fire investigator had narrowed the cause of the fire to “some type of smoking material” like a cigarette.

The person killed, believed to be a man in his 60s, has not been identified.

The fire started in a bedroom toward the back of the home on West Brier Circle Court. Firefighters were dispatched just after 3 a.m. Sunday When engines arrived, firefighters couldn’t immediately enter the home due to the flames. After the fire was extinguished, a dead man was found in a back room where the blaze started.

According to City-Data.com, Richard Logan, 84, and Alice Logan, 62, own the home.

Vasquez said Sunday that Alice Logan had tried to rescue her brother after she was alerted by smoke alarms that the fire had started. In the process, she suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to a nearby hospital.

Community Medical Centers spokeswoman Mary Lisa Russell confirmed Monday that Alice Logan was treated and released from the hospital. Richard Logan was not injured in the fire, according to Vasquez.

Other homes nearby were not damaged, but Vasquez said the Logans’ house was uninhabitable because of the fire. On Sunday, workers were boarding it up. Total damage was estimated at about $100,000.

This story was originally published July 17, 2017 at 4:05 PM with the headline "The cause of a deadly Fresno house fire could be ‘smoking material’."