U.S. News

Actions

Woman Smoking While On Oxygen Dies in Fire

A Colorado Springs woman is dead after firefighters say she was smoking cigarettes while on oxygen at her home.
Posted at
and last updated

A Colorado Springs woman is dead after firefighters say she was smoking cigarettes while on oxygen at her home.

NEIGHBOR: "With our houses being as close as they are right here, it could have been worse. ... The whole trailer park could've went up." (Via KKTV)

Firefighters pulled the unnamed woman unconscious out of her mobile home and rushed her to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. (Via KOAA)

The blaze required a heavy response — according to KUSA — more than two dozen firefighters, a hazmat unit and two fire trucks. 

I​nvestigators are ruling the fire an accident. And because they say the woman had been smoking while on oxygen, it's sadly an accident that could have been prevented. 

Because medical oxygen raises the levels of the element, things can ignite much, much more easily. (Via  WWLP)

It's Colorado Springs' first fire-related fatality of the year. But it might not be the only recent fatality potentially caused by smoking near oxygen. 

Atlanta investigators say a recent apartment fire there might have started with a man smoking in an apartment with oxygen tanks inside. (Via WLTZ)