Officials say cigarette sparked fatal fire in Pa.
Posted: December 13, 2013 - 4:13am

Smoke billows from the front of the homes on South Rock Street in Shamokin, Pa. that were destroyed five homes and took the life of a 13 year old female on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/The News-Item, Mike Staugaitis)
SHAMOKIN, Pa. (AP) -- Investigators in northeastern Pennsylvania believe that a cigarette thrown in a trash can is to blame for sparking a three-alarm fire that destroyed five homes and killed a 13-year-old girl. Northumberland County investigators say the fire started on the second floor of the Shamokin home on Tuesday before spreading to four more houses on the block. Firefighters found the body of 13-year-old Melissa Pangburn in her attic bedroom on the third floor. The seventh-grade honor roll student died from carbon monoxide poisoning. No other injuries were reported. All five homes were condemned by the city.