Police: Watertown man dies after being careless with cigars

Spent cigars, two lighters and match ends were found throughout apartment 6 at 149 Keyes Ave., early Thursday morning as fire investigators sifted through debris in the gutted ground-floor unit.

The resident, William H. Stitt, 65, was found dead near a door that would have been his escape to the outdoors. The door was slightly ajar, according to City Fire Battalion Chief Dale C. Herman.

Watertown police Thursday afternoon confirmed that Mr. Stitt was the fire victim, and concurred with the fire department that the “careless use of smoking material” sparked the blaze in his apartment.

Dr. Samuel A. Livingstone, Jefferson County medical examiner, performed an autopsy Thursday afternoon and attributed death to asphyxiation due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Chief Herman said the fire originated in or near a large stuffed chair in the middle of Mr. Stitt's livingroom. All other possible accidental causes for a fire were eliminated, he said.

Read Friday's Times for more information.