Taylor fire may have started after woman dropped cigarette during heart attack, police say

TAYLOR, Mich. (WJBK) - Evidence suggests the Taylor fire that killed two women may have been started when the daughter dropped a cigarette she was holding while having a heart attack.

The flames briefly re-kindled earlier Friday while fire investigators were working in the home.

Elderly woman and daughter killed in Taylor house fire

"It appears that one of our two victims was deceased prior to the fire," said John Blair, acting chief of the Taylor Police Department.

The fire at a house on Buck Street on Wednesday afternoon was initially reported by neighbors as an explosion.

It killed a woman in her 80s and her daughter in her 60s, but it turns out the daughter may have died shortly before of natural causes. She was pronounced dead on scene.

"We're still waiting on autopsy results to find out exactly what caused her death but that's the only change we have at this point," Blair said.

Her mother died of smoke inhalation at the hospital.

"No signs of foul play. We didn't see any drums of accelerant out there, nothing to lead us to believe there was any criminal act here at all," Blair said.

The house is still under close watch after the fire flared up again Friday morning. Despite reports of loud noises, investigators still have not found evidence of any explosions.

"Some of the neighbors may have heard some popping noises which we find pretty commonly in these fires. It could've been just about anything, an aerosol can or some chemicals inside," Blair said.