A 16-month-old Rockcastle County infant died early yesterday after a mobile-home fire.
The blaze began about 1:10 a.m. at the residence on Ky. 1955, about 4 miles southeast of Livingston, said Detective Matt Bryant of the Rockcastle County Sheriff's Department.
The fire began in the living room, where a bed and recliner were situated, Bryant said. Shelley Looney, 27, was in the room, and her son, Nathaniel Victor White, was in an adjacent room.
Nathaniel was flown to the University of Kentucky Hospital. He died there at 2:54 a.m., according to a Fayette County coroner's report.
It could not be determined if the two, who lived there alone, were sleeping, Bryant said.
Bryant said investigators suspect the fire might have been started by a cigarette because only the bed and the right armrest of the recliner showed severe burn marks. The bed was entirely consumed. The rest of the single-wide mainly sustained smoke damage.
"We're not pursuing that as our exclusive cause of the fire, but we are ... investigating that strongly right now," Bryant said.
Bryant said Looney had been drinking before the fire. He said he obtained results yesterday afternoon of a blood-alcohol test conducted on Looney when she was admitted to the Rockcastle Hospital after the fire. The test showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.16, he said.
She remains in the hospital, being treated for smoke inhalation, he said.
Bryant said the case is a preliminary death investigation for now.
But he said "there's a strong possibility" Looney could face charges.
"The evidence is beginning to mount in that direction," he said.
Distributed by the Associated Press
