UPDATE: Improperly discarded cigar believed to have caused fatal - KTIV News 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and Sports

UPDATE: Improperly discarded cigar believed to have caused fatal fire

Posted: Updated:
By Kristie VerMulm, Evening Anchor - bio | email
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -

Authorities say they have determined the cause of a fire that claimed the life of a Sioux City man over the weekend.

71-year-old Delbert Rowse died at a local hospital after he was pulled from a basement at 1016 21st Street, early Saturday morning. An official says Rowse was asleep when the sofa he was on was ignited by an improperly discarded cigar.

"In this case, whether the smoke alarm woke him up since he was in close proximity to the fire, we don't know exactly what happened in this case. But with all of the circumstances that during the investigation that have occurred, everything points to the fire did start right in the sofa, where he was located," Mark Aesoph, the Fire Marshal said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The agency says it's important for residents to check smoke alarms and be aware of the dangers of smoking related fires.

 

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