Fatal house fire near Campbell Park was caused by a cigarette, fire official says

An early morning house fire that ended in a woman’s death and put two others in the hospital earlier this month was accidental, an Anchorage fire official said Tuesday.

“We believe the fire was due to improperly disposed smoking material,” said Fire Marshal Cleo Hill.

Amanda Hammons, 32, died in the July 18 fire, and the two other people who were with her in the Tudortop Circle home were taken to the hospital. They have since been released, Hill and a Red Cross spokeswoman confirmed.

Hill said she could not say where exactly in the single-family house the fire originated until insurance companies had completed their own investigations.

The state medical examiner will determine how exactly Hammons died, police said.