By Associated Press - Monday, December 11, 2017

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A state police fire marshal says careless smoking started a fire that killed a Pennsylvania man last week.

Trooper Carl Richards said the blaze shortly before noon Friday started on the bed of 68-year-old Edward Yamnitsky of Richland Township.

Richards said in a statement Monday that Yamnitsky “was unable to escape the fire and gases and subsequently died from his injuries.”



The Cambria County coroner’s office said he died of second- and third-degree burns. Coroner Jeff Lees said Yamnitsky used supplemental oxygen, which probably contributed to the severity of his injuries.

The fire was ruled accidental.

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