OFFICIALS UNDECIDED ON CAUSE OF FATAL FIRE

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- The cause of a fatal fire that killed a 55-year-old man this week remains undetermined, the Marble Hill fire chief said.

Frank James Jr. died Tuesday when the two-room cottage he was renting was destroyed by an early morning fire.

"He had a gas space heater, he smoked," said Jim Bollinger, fire chief. "There were a number of things that could have contributed."

Fourteen firefighters responded to the fire in the old Lutesville area, Bollinger said, but the small structure was enveloped in flames when firefighters arrived.

"There was just not much we could do by the time we got there," he said.

James was found lying on his bed in the portion of the house that had suffered the greatest fire damage.

Two investigators from the Missouri Fire Marshal's office responded but were unable to decide on a cause, Bollinger said.