A house fire that killed an Anson man on Sunday has been deemed accidental, according to the Maine fire marshal’s office.
The fire that broke out about 10:30 a.m. Sunday in the Moore Street home of Richard Duley, 75, started near the basement stairs, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Investigators who returned to Duley’s home on Tuesday morning determined that a failing electrical conductor sparked the blaze, McCausland said.
Duley, who lived alone, was found in the living room near the stairway with a fire extinguisher next to him, McCausland said.
The Maine medical examiner’s office has examined Duley but is waiting for further testing before announcing a cause of death.