A lit cigarette caused a fire Monday in Arroyo Grande that killed a 65-year-old man and severely damaged his longtime home, authorities said.
Residents at the house had intentionally removed the batteries in the home's smoke detectors because they were being set off by cigarette smoke, said officials.
"We truly believe that if a (working) smoke detector had been in this house, we would have been there in time to save everyone," said Terry Fibich, chief of the Arroyo Grande Fire Department. "It's a terrible shame."
Lon Brazelton was trapped as the fire began early Monday morning in the single-story house. He died of smoke inhalation and burns, said Fibich.
About 20 firefighters responded to the blaze, which began at 5:15 a.m. in Brazelton's bedroom, Fibich said. The disabled man had been smoking in bed, he said.
The fire took an hour and a half to extinguish. Damage to the house, now uninhabitable, is estimated at $100,000.
"It's pretty well totaled between heat and smoke and the fire," said Sgt. Kevin McBride of the Arroyo Grande Police Department. Fire destroyed three rooms, and smoke and heat damaged the remainder.
The house's other residents said they were shocked but relatively unhurt.
"We're all shook up and scared," said Janet Sorenson, 60, soot and tears staining her face Monday morning. Sorenson had shared one of the house's rooms with Rick Steinberger, 48, for about a year.
Brazelton's girlfriend, Penny Trueworthy, rented another room in the house, police said. She had spent Sunday night at her mother's house and was not home when the fire began.
Sorenson said she noticed smoke coming from Brazelton's bedroom early Monday when she got up to use the bathroom. She yelled at Brazelton and Steinberger to get up, then ran to a neighbor's house and called 911.
"I said, 'Lonnie, get out of the bed and crawl if you have to. Get out of there,' " Sorenson recalled.
Brazelton had difficulty walking and preferred to cling to the wall for support rather than use his wheelchair or cane, Sorenson said. The man had diabetes and spent much of his time in bed, she said.
Firefighters were unable to enter the house because of the smoke and heat, Fibich said. They tried to tell Brazelton how to escape, but he died before he could get out of the house.
Also killed in the blaze were one dog and at least six cats, which Sorenson kept in cages in her room. Another cat may have escaped, police said.
Fibich said fire officials urge people to change the batteries in their smoke detectors twice a year, using the change to and from daylight saving time as a reminder.
