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LINCOLNTON––The Wednesday housefire that killed three people has been ruled accidental.

That’s the word Thursday from Lincoln County Public Affairs Officer Vanessa León. As León informed, representatives of the Lincoln County Fire Marshal’s Office and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation have determined that the housefire on Cloudburst Circle in Lincolnton was an accident and caused by improperly discarded smoking materials.

The fire, which occurred in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, resulted in the deaths of two adults and a child, according to local officials.

Improperly discarded smoking materials can cause devastating fires. The fire marshal’s office and the SBI issued the following safety tips.

• If you smoke, use only fire-safe cigarettes.
• Also if you smoke, do so outside. Most deaths result from fires that started in living rooms, family rooms, dens and bedrooms.
• Keep cigarettes, lighters, matches and other smoking-related materials placed up high and in locked cabinets, safely out of the reach of children.
• Use a deep, sturdy ashtray. Place it away from anything that can burn.
• And do not discard cigarettes in such vegetation as mulch, potted plants or landscaping, peat moss, dried grasses, leaves or other things that could ignite easily.

Further, if you use medical oxygen, use caution. Never smoke and never allow anyone to smoke where medical oxygen is being used. Medical oxygen can cause materials to ignite more easily and make fires burn at a faster rate than normal. It can make an existing fire burn faster and hotter.

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