Smoking and oxygen use cause of deadly Westfield fire

WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - A fire in an elderly housing complex that took the life of a 72 year-old woman was caused by a combination of smoking and home oxygen use, fire officials say.

State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan, along with Westfield’s fire and police chiefs, made the announcement of the cause of Monday’s fire at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Margaret A. Lunden was killed in the fire at the General Shepard Apartments on Monday afternoon. A Westfield firefighter was also hurt during the fire, and was taken to Noble Hospital for treatment. The upper floors of the high-rise building had to be evacuated for hours.

Fires involving home oxygen use are a growing problem, Coan says, in part because people do not realize that smoking isn’t just unsafe when the oxygen is on.

“There cannot be any smoking in the same home with oxygen. Oxygen soaks into clothing, upholstered furniture, and hair; creating an oxygen-enriched environment that is dangerous even when the oxygen is turned off,” Coan said.

There have been 37 fire deaths in Massachusetts involving home oxygen use since 1997.