Fatal LaFayette fire ruled accidental

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963 Round Pond Road

963 Round Pond Road
photo Fire tile

A LaFayette, Ga., man died Thursday morning in a fire that has been ruled accidental, according to a news release from state Insurance and Safety Commissioner Ralph Hudgens.

Peter Whittenberger, 60, died in a fire at a home on Round Pond Road, according to the release. The fire began before 9 a.m. Thursday.

Glenn Allen, a spokesman for the commissioner's office, said Whittenberger was pulled from the home by Walker County fire department personnel, and CPR was administered while they waited for an ambulance.

When the ambulance arrived at Hutcheson Medical Center, Whittenberger had already died, Allen said.

The release said an investigation showed the fire started in the living room area as a result of a malfunctioning wood-burning stove.

Allen said no smoke alarm was found in the home. Hudgens said in the release that having a smoke alarm doubles the chance of survival in a residential fire.

Last year, there were 91 fatal residential fires in Georgia, and 43 of those fires were in homes without working smoke alarms, Allen said.

This fatality brings Georgia's fire death total to 87 so far for 2014, according to the release.

Allen said annually the average for residential home fire fatalities is 100.

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