MINOT – Investigators believe a fire that claimed the life of 19-year-old Danielle Damon Saturday afternoon was accidental. No exact cause for the blaze was found but state inspectors do not believe the fire had suspicious origins.
Damon’s body was found in the rubble of a burned log cabin on Pottle Hill Road hours after flames destroyed the home. Investigators had initially believed no one was inside when the fire was reported at noon Saturday.
By the time fire crews arrived at the scene of the blaze, the log cabin was fully engulfed by flames, fire officials said.
Investigators from the State Fire Marshal’s Office examined the building but the extent of damage prevented them from pinpointing a cause, officials said.
Damon, who lived in the cabin with her boyfriend, 21-year-old James Lecomte, was believed to have been sleeping when fire tore through their home.
Investigators said Lecomte was out searching for wood for a woodstove when the blaze was reported. The furnace had broken down inside the home Friday night and the couple was temporarily using a woodstove to heat the log cabin.
The woodstove has not been ruled out as a possible cause for the fire, investigators said Tuesday.
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