Thursday, January 13, 2000
Monroe blaze traced to cigarette
BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MONROE — The blaze that killed two brothers and a family friend Jan. 8 was caused by abandoned or improperly discarded smoking materials, fire officials said Wednesday.
Investigators believe that at some time during the night, an ashtray was knocked off the backrest of a couch in the basement family room, Monroe Fire Chief Mark Neu said in a news release Wednesday.
“A cigarette likely smoldered and eventually ignited the couch and subsequently the structure,” the chief said. The victims, he said, were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes.
Chief Neu said investigators from the Ohio Fire Marshal's office, Butler County Sheriff's Department, the city of Fairfield and his department concur on the cause.
Killed in the 5:55 a.m. fire on Lindy Avenue were Terry Langdon, 52, who owned the home; his brother, Matt Langdon, 41, of Briarwood Drive, Hamilton; and June Reck, 43, of Euclid Avenue, Middletown. Ms. Reck was Matt Langdon's girlfriend.
Terry Langdon was found in his bed in the front bedroom. The others were found in the bathtub, where officials
believe they wound up after becoming disoriented from the smoke and fire.
Two firefighters were treated for injuries at local hospitals and later released. Two others were rescued by fellow firefighters after being trapped in a smoke- and flame-filled hallway.
Chief Neu said two smoke detec tors were found in the home Jan. 10, but the batteries were not hooked up.
“They had probably had smoke from cooking, and they went off, and they disarmed them and forgot to hook them back up,” he said.
The detectors had been overlooked Jan. 8 because one plastic cover had fallen off the ceiling and melted into the carpet and was covered with debris. The second was hidden in the back corner of a bookshelf, the chief said.
The Monroe Fire Department, with help from the American Red Cross, provides free smoke detectors and/or batteries to residents in the fire district, Chief Neu said. Call 539-8380 for more information about the detectors.
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