Cigarette caused house fire that killed Noblesville woman, chief says

NOBLESVILLE -- A Noblesville woman who had been rescued 12 years ago from a house fire caused by a cigarette died Saturday night in a fire caused by a discarded cigarette.

It took more than two days for fire officials and the Hamilton County coroner to identify her as Jane Cardoza, 70. The fire was in her duplex in the 400 block of Woodview Drive near Forest Hill Elementary School. Noblesville Fire Division Chief Rick Russell said Tuesday afternoon that Cardoza died from soot and heat inhalation. An autopsy was conducted Monday and Cardoza's dental records were sent to Indiana University School of Dentistry in Indianapolis for the identification. At 9:22 p.m. Saturday, Jeremy Keel and Lonnie Compton saw flames coming from the front windows of the home. Compton told firefighters that an elderly woman lived at the residence, but he did not know whether she was home at the time of the fire. Five minutes later, firefighters entered the burning building and found Cardoza in the chair. They had the fire under control in about 20 minutes, Russell said. Damage was estimated at about $50,000. Cardoza, who Russell said lived by herself for many years, was the only person in the duplex, and the other half was vacant. "She was a really nice lady," said neighbor Brad Flinchum, who rarely left her home. On May 15, 1995, firefighters were called to Cardoza's home when a fire, caused by a discarded cigarette, started in a chair, said Russell. Cardoza was taken then to the hospital with minor injuries. In November, Noblesville Fire Chief Ken Gilliam announced that he was working with other fire officials and Sen. Jeff Drozda, R-Westfield, to pass a state law limiting cigarettes to fire-safe ones. At the time, Russell said that smoking materials had started at least three and as many as nine fires in Noblesville in the previous 12 months. Fire-safe cigarettes extinguish themselves after a period time if the smoker does not take a puff, Gilliam said. "Having these (fire-safe cigarettes) means fewer lives lost and fewer property losses because of cigarettes being left unattended," Gilliam said. Noblesville's last fire fatality was in October 1993, when Christopher L. Dunn, 25, died in a kitchen fire in his home, Russell said

Submitted on 02/28/2008

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080227/LOCAL/802270371/1186/LOCAL010403&GID=1cI

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Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
Having survived one close call this woman certainly should have known better. The old adage "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." comes to mind in this case. Thanks for sending this in.

James said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
Unfortunately, thanks to this woman's stupidity and our sick sense of political correctness, the locals are going to try and pass legislation to limit this sort of thing in the future. I find it rather sad that we in the USA take special pains to coddle the stupid among us by legislating what can and can't be sold, done, played with, &c &c. rather than by simply making an example of and learning from their behavior! But enough of that, I agree with Bruce. She disregarded her first near-miss, and now has eternity to smoke whatever might be in the hereafter when and wherever she likes!