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EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I.

Man dies in East Providence fire caused by cigarette

Fire officials said a 68-year-old man was killed in a blaze in East Providence that was sparked by a discarded cigarette, the second fatal fire in Rhode Island this week. The Providence Journal reported that Ronald Duarte was killed in the Thursday morning fire at a single-story home on South Blossom Street. Oscar Elmasian, the acting fire chief in East Providence, said the fire was ruled an accident. He said a cigarette that had been disposed of improperly sparked the fire in the living room. Duarte was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where he later died. A 91-year-old woman died in a house fire in Lincoln Tuesday.