GRIFFIN, Ga. (AP) - A fatal house fire in Spalding County has been ruled accidental.
Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, in a news release, says Saturday’s fire was caused by careless smoking.
The blaze claimed the life of 44-year-old Christie Lewis. Her son, 6-year-old Zachary Sevenstar, was severely injured and is being treated at the burn center in Augusta.
Hudgens says investigators revealed that improper discarding of a cigarette into a trash can started the fire, which was reported about 9:30 a.m.
The death brings Georgia’s fire fatality total to 65 for 2017.
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This story has been corrected to fix spelling of Spalding throughout.
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