VENTURA : Cigarettes Blamed in Fatal House Fire
A house fire that killed a 62-year-old Ventura woman Monday night started when the woman apparently ignited an armchair while smoking cigarettes, a fire investigator said Friday.
Barbara Seymour, who was found lying on the floor near her front door with burns over her entire body, was unable to escape the blaze because she apparently could not find the key to the double-key deadbolt on her front door, Ventura City Fire Capt. Michael Maher said.
Investigators reviewed an audiotape of Seymour’s 911 emergency call and interviewed friends and relatives who described her as a heavy smoker, Maher said.
He said she told the dispatcher that she could get out of the house at 746 Sidonia Ave.
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