St. Paul Fire Department officials have determined that improper disposal of smoking materials likely caused the house fire that killed sophomore Michael Larson in December.

St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said the fire was “accidental” and investigations took awhile because investigators had to rule out “every other accidental cause.”

“It’s likely the result of smoking,” he said. Most of the evidence was based on interviews from the survivors of the fire.

Three people, including two St. Thomas students, survived the fire by jumping out a second-story window.

The fire started on the front porch, and the house was engulfed in flames when the fire department arrived at the scene.

“According to the interviews of the survivors, they smoked out there [on the porch],” Zaccard said. “They discarded the butts in a plastic container and another container.”

Zaccard said the plastic container was destroyed in the fire. “One or more hot butt” could have caused a fire, Zaccard said. Larson did not smoke, he added.

“Unfortunately tragedies happen like this. It’s terrible,” Zaccard said. “A lot of people think, ‘It wouldn’t happen to me.’ It can happen to anyone.”

Students should take precautions

“Smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths in Minnesota, so it’s not exclusive to student housing,” Zaccard said. People should smoke outdoors and use non-combustible containers to dispose smoking materials, he said.

“To dispose them in water would be ideal. We want to make sure the butt was out,” Zaccard said. “Use a large ashtray or non-combustible container.”

Students should take precautions such as checking smoke detectors, making sure every room has a fire exit and buying a fire extinguisher, Zaccard said. He also said students should not wait to call the fire department.

“Ideally one person should extinguish the fire while the other calls 911,” Zaccard said.

Theresa Malloy can be reached at mall5754@stthomas.edu.