VANCOUVER, Wash. — The man who died in a fire inside his motel room last month has been identified.
The fire at The Inn at Salmon Creek on NE Highway 99 near NE 119th Street started around 6:30 a.m. on December 9.
Firefighters with Clark County Fire District 6 put out the blaze within minutes of arriving. Upon a search of the room, they found a body inside.
The man is identified as 74-year-old Peter Benson of Vancouver. The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled his death an accident from asphyxia due to smoke inhalation.
The Clark County Fire Marshal's Office says there were two possible ignition sources. Therefore, the fire has been listed as undetermined.
The room was severely cluttered and there were discarded cigarette butts throughout the room, officials said. There were also indications that the occupant had burned several items using a handheld flame.
Investigators say the battery for the smoke detector had been disconnected.
"Smoke detectors give occupants an early warning to a possible fire and should be tested on a regular basis," said Senior Deputy Fire Marshal Rick Searls.
The fire was confined to a single room.
Download the KGW News app: Download for iPhone here | Download for Android here
Stream newscasts for free on KGW+ on Roku and Amazon Fire: How to add app to your device here
See a typo in this article? Email web@kgw.com for corrections