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Ashley Hayes ReportingAn early morning house fire in Salt Lake took the life of the homeowner who lived there. The man's body was so badly burned investigaters couldn't confirm the victim's identity until late this afternoon. We now know he was 64-year-old Earnest Reed.
It appears this was a horrible accident. Fire investigaters believe Earnest Reed fell asleep while he was smoking a cigarette. Firefighters found his body inside the house under roof debris in the living room.
Just after 5 o'clock this morning neighbors living on North Dexter Street woke up to find Earnest Reed's house on fire. One of those neighbors called 911. Within minutes firefighters were at the house. They quickly dowsed the flames, but inside Reed and his dog were already dead.
Dennis McKone, Asst. to Fire Chief Salt Lake City Fire Dept: "This is always one of the worst cases. Especially when we haven't had a fatality in quite a while. I'm not even sure we had one last year."
Levi Romero, Neighbor: "Good guy, nice guy, friendly man who cam up and talked to me in the summer, mowing the lawns and that. I just can't understand what could have happened. Especially at 5 o'clock in the morning."
Firefighters say Reed fell asleep while smoking a cigarette. He had no fire detectors inside his home. McCone: "No smoke alarms. As I've said over my years with the Salt Lake City fire department being a PIO, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors save lives." A walk down the street reveals this is not an uncommon situation.
Fey Maalona, Neighbor: "That's scary. I was thinking because these houses are old. We don't have it either. So that's Scary." McCone: "It's awful when we have a fatality because like I said for five or six dollars a room you can save lives."
Once again firefighters are calling this house fire an accident. They believe 64 year-old Earnest Reed was smoking when he just fell asleep.
