Madison fire officials determined discarded smoking materials were the root cause of the Nov. 18 fire at 123 N. Bedford St. that killed a 23-year-old UW-LaCrosse student and displaced five UW-Madison students.
The fire is believed to be the result of improperly discarded smoking materials on or near a couch located on the front porch of the house, according to fire investigators. Investigators also determined no working smoke detectors existed in the house at the time of the fire.
“Usually what happens in a fire where cigarette smoking or any kind of smoking materials are implicated, is the ashes [and] the sparks fall into either bedding or upholstery,” said Madison Fire Department spokeswoman Lori Wirth.
Firefighters found Peter Talen, 23, a Plymouth, Wis., native who was in Madison visiting his brother, dead near a couch in the living room directly next to the porch.
“I certainly think it’s quite likely that the couch was the first thing that was ignited,” Wirth said.
Improperly disposed smoking materials are the most common cause of fire fatalities, according to MFD Chief Debra Amesqua.
The Bedford Street house fire is Madison’s third fatal smoking-related fire in 2007.
“We had two fires earlier in the year in which smoking materials started the fire. One was in March and a second in June,” Wirth said. “In each case an older adult female died.”
Nearly 40 percent of fire fatalities are linked to alcohol consumption, according to Wirth. She added investigators have yet to determine if alcohol played a role in the Nov. 18 fire.
“We don’t know if any of that is the case here, but the fact of the matter is we know that it happens in a lot of fire fatalities,” Wirth said.
The Bedford Street fire came in the wake of a Nov. 10 apartment blaze at 505 N. Carroll St. No one was injured, and 30 UW students were displaced.
According to Alicia Jackson, special assistant to the dean, the students displaced in the Carroll Street apartment fire were relocated to several different locations through the help of Campus Area Housing. Some students have moved into dorm lounges, while others have found off-campus housing, Jackson said.
Jackson was unsure of the current living situation of the displaced Bedford Street students.
