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WEST VALLEY CITY -- A West Valley woman died Wednesday in a accidental house fire.
Fire investigators say the fire is from a cigarette. It dropped on the floor, where it lit a rug on fire. In no time, it spread to the entire room with no way for the woman to get out.
Reed Babcock is friends with the family who lived in the home. The husband got out but his wife didn't.
"He just said, ‘She called to me, and I couldn't do anything about it,'" Babcock said.
Fire investigators say the fire started because of a lit cigarette in the room where the woman was.
Chris Beichner, with the West Valley Fire Department, said, "Looks like it fell to the floor, started the rug on fire, then went up and pretty much the whole room."
The husband was upstairs when he smelled smoke, went downstairs, and saw flames.
Neighbors say the woman smoked, used an oxygen tank and had a lot of health problems but still made the most out of life.
Neighbor Gloria Vansoolen said of the woman, "Just a nice lady, just a nice lady. She kept to herself and her husband, and they were just nice people."
"She was a very kind and considerate person and she would do anything for you," Babcock said.
Now, neighbors say they'll do their best to comfort her husband and help the family any way they can.
"They've had a very tough time in life, and it's a very sad thing," Babcock said.
Neighbors also said the woman's father passed away in California last month, but she couldn't go to his funeral because of her health conditions. It's been a tough month for this family.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
