Unextinguished cigarettes caused fatal Minneapolis fire

Published 8:25 am Friday, March 23, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS — Investigators say unextinguished cigarettes caused a fatal house fire in northeast Minneapolis last weekend.

The Minneapolis Fire Department says the fire was started on the first floor by cigarettes that ignited a sofa in the living room. The cause of the fire was ruled unintentional.

Sixty-three-year-old Thomas Edward Nowak died when the two-story home caught fire Saturday evening. Firefighters quickly put out a fire on the first floor and then found the victim on the second floor. Nowak was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he died.

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It’s the first fire fatality in Minneapolis in 2018.