Cigarette Blamed for Fire That Killed 2

A smoldering cigarette was blamed for a house fire that took the lives of a sleeping Huntington Beach couple, officials said Monday.

The bodies of David Odor, 40, and his wife, Sally, 49, were found in the bedroom of their Northridge Lane home, where they had been overcome by smoke from the blaze, a Huntington Beach Fire Department spokeswoman said.

Discarded smoking material in the living room caused the fire, which was reported at 11:49 p.m. Sunday, fire officials said.

It took 23 firefighters 20 minutes to put out the blaze, which caused an estimated $75,000 worth of damage to the single-story home and an estimated $25,000 damage to its contents, she said.

An 18-year-old son who lived at the home was at work at the time of the fire, a department spokeswoman said.