A smoldering cigarette was the cause of a fire last Friday which caused the deaths of Cora Raiford, 83, and her son, Kenneth Raiford, 56, in their Homewood home, police said.

Before he died in West Penn Hospital, Kenneth Raiford told police that he had been smoking on the porch before the fire. A hot ash from his cigarette ignited some furniture and led to the house being engulfed in flames, police investigator Tom Huerbin said last night.

Mr. Raiford suffered burns over more than 60 percent of his body before he escaped.

His mother was trapped inside the burning house on Kedron Street.

Investigators have ruled the cause was an accident.

Mr. Raiford's account of the fire, reported just before 5 a.m. Friday, was confirmed by images from a surveillance video shot from a school across the street.