Waltham Fatal Fire Likely Caused By Smoking Material Or Candle
One of the most frequent causes of fire is smoking materials, and that may have been what happened last week, says the State Fire Marshal.
By Jenna Fisher, Patch Staff | Jun 12, 2018 9:13 pm ET
WALTHAM, MA —
It may have been smoking material or a candle that caused the fire last week that resulted in the death of a Waltham man, according to fire officials.
The 2-Alarm fire on June 4 killed Wayne D. Dawson, 54, who lived on the third floor of the Rumford Avenue home. Dawson was rescued by firefighters, but later was pronounced dead. His brother managed to escape.
The final cause of the fire was ruled "officially undetermined but most likely due to smoking materials," according to the State Fire Marshal's office.
"The victim was known to smoke both cigarettes and marijuana and witnesses report many burns on the bedding in the past from smoking materials," according to a statement from the State Fire Marshal's office.
Officials noted that most of the smoke and CO alarms were missing from the home.
Investigators found mounting plates and dangling wires for hard wired alarms but no sign of alarms nearby or in the debris. Fire officials say working smoke detectors are critical to saving lives in a fire and encourage people to make sure theirs are installed and work.
Officials say the fire started at 6:45 p.m., Monday June 4 in a third floor bedroom where Dawson lived. Investigators were looking at improper use or disposal of smoking materials as the most likely cause, but a candle could also have possibly caused the fire, which is why the official cause remains undetermined.
The Waltham Fire and Police Departments and State Police assigned to both the Office of the State Fire Marshal and to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office investigated the fire.
In 2016 ( the most recent data available) there were 45 fatal fires that killed 56 civilians, including 30 men, 22 women and four people under age 18, according to the State Fire Marshal's office. No firefighters died in the line of duty that year.
According to the state data, 19 fires were started by smoking materials, making that cause the leading cause of residential fire deaths, at 43 percent of home fire deaths compared with 2 percent caused by candles.
Some 32 percent of fires in 2016 were ruled "undetermined."
Wayne Dawson was born and raised in Brighton, but had lived in Waltham for the past 19 years and worked as a painter with his brothers. Wayne enjoyed going fishing and taking his dog Jazzy for walks, according to his obituary. He leaves behind his mother and four siblings and their children.
Obituary for Wayne Dawson
Wayne David DawsonOf Waltham, passed away suddenly and tragically, Monday, June 4, 2018 due to injuries sustained from a house fire. He was 54.
Born and raised in Brighton to his loving parents Phyllis (Hacon) Dawson of Waltham and the late James Dawson, he has been a resident of Waltham for the past 19 years.
Wayne worked as a painter along with his brothers for many years.
In his spare time, Wayne enjoyed going fishing and taking his dog Jazzy for walks.
Besides his mother he is survived by his loving siblings Richard Dawson and his wife Rose (Sampson) of Newton, Donna Carcerano and her husband Michael of Watertown, Barry Dawson of Waltham, and Dana Clark and her husband Michael of Middleboro, his nieces and nephews Richard Sampson of Maynard, Craig Montague and Lisa Carcerano both of Watertown, Donna Clark of Raynham, Jennifer Iverson of Norton, Michael Clark of Berkley, and James and Jessica Clark both of Middleboro. He is also survived by many great nieces and nephews.
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WALTHAM, MA —
Despite firefighters efforts to save him, one man died after being pulled from a 2-alarm fire Monday in Waltham.
Just before 7 p.m. Monday Waltham firefighters were called to Rumford Avenue for a 2-alarm fire. When they arrived there were flames shooting out from the top of the three story wood frame multi-family home.
At least one man escaped the fire but tried to go back and save his brother, who was trapped on the third floor, according to fire officials. Firefighters eventually found the man and pulled him from the fire unconscious, but were unable to save him.
"It appears that the bulk of the fire was in the room across from where he was. He was in the bathroom fully clothed. We're not sure what transpired yet," said Deputy Chief Thomas MacInnis to reporters.
By 7:30 p.m. the bulk of the fire was put out. Tuesday morning the charred top floor of the home was visible as fire officials continued an investigation.
A spokesperson for the Waltham Fire department told Patch a joint investigation is underway involving the State Fire Marshall, Waltham Police, and State Police as the cause is yet undetermined.
Waltham Fire Department Spokesperson Lt. Scott Perry said as far as he knew no other injuries were reported. Newton, Belmont, Weston, Lexington and Watertown helped with mutual aid he said, adding that fire fighters stayed on the scene until about 3 a.m. Tuesday.
The house was built around 1890 and is classified as a three-family home. It had three units with a total of six bedroom and three bathrooms. It was last accessed at $483,200.
Courtesy Waltham City