Elderly woman dies after falling asleep with cigarette

LOS ANGELES - L.A. County firefighters warned residents to check their smoke detectors after an elderly woman died in Los Angeles when she fell asleep while smoking in bed.Authorities said the lit cigarette sparked a fire inside the apartment home, which had no working smoke detectors. "Our investigators determined that this fire was actually caused by the victim herself when she fell asleep in bed with a lit cigarette," said Fire Capt. Tom Richards, public information officer for L.A. County Fire. "The smoke alarms in her home were not working, so no one was able to hear the smoke alarm go off. This is really a tragedy." According to fire statistics, 70 percent of all fire deaths occur in homes without working smoke alarms.

********** Published: February 14, 2013 - Volume 11 - Issue 44