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Cause, ID released in fatal Huber Heights blaze

The second fatal fire in Huber Heights this year claimed the life of a 68-year-old woman.

Christine M. Jeffery was found deceased Wednesday night after a house fire in the 4500 block of Korner Drive, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.

Her body was found in a bedroom where the fire started shortly before 7 p.m., said Huber Heights Fire Chief Mark Ashworth. He said the cause and origin of the fire was determined to be a discarded cigarette in the bedroom.

“The victim was found in the bedroom where the bulk of the fire was located,” Ashworth said, adding the woman was bedridden. “The person was on home oxygen, and that accelerated the fire.”

Ashworth said the fire was ruled accidental with about $30,000 in damages to the structure. He said it’s not known yet the value of the contents damaged.

Neighbor Tammy Knight said Jeffery was well known and will be missed.

“I’m sorry to hear about this, and she will be missed because she was a wonderful lady,” Knight said, who lives around the corner from the elderly woman known as Nanny Chris.

Knight said her neighbor was a former foster mother, and that when her daughter was young, she would play with the foster children.

Knight said the woman lived by herself but had two dogs, and that her son owned the single-story brick home. Ashworth said no animals were found inside the home, so it’s not clear if they escaped.

“Our hearts go out to the family,” Ashworth said.

Fire crews cleared the scene around 11 p.m. Mutual aid was received from Dayton, Butler Twp. and Riverside.

This is the second fatal fire this year in Huber Heights.

On Feb. 22, a house fire at a home in the 6400 block of Hemingway Road left a woman and two children critically injured. One child, 10-year-old Tabitha Whetstone, died of her injuries 10 days later at Dayton Children’s Hospital.

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