Man died in fire at Bristol home

BRISTOL — A local man died when he was overcome by smoke from a fire in his home over the weekend.

State Fire Marshal Paul J. Parisi and Bristol Fire Chief Benjamin LaRoche identified the man as Barry Lassiter, 65.

Lassiter’s body was discovered when firefighters arrived at 25 Nyberg Road, responding to a report that the dwelling was on fire Saturday afternoon.

A neighbor saw smoke coming from the mobile home located on a wooded, hillside lot and called 9-1-1, Bristol Deputy Fire Chief Chris Dolloff said Monday.

The first firefighters who arrived on the scene shortly after 2:15 p.m. saw fire coming from the front of the dwelling.

Dolloff said because Lassiter’s car was in the yard and based on calls the department had made to the address in the past there was “a strong assumption someone was in the building.”

Dolloff and Fire Capt. George Clayman went into the home and quickly found Lassiter in a bedroom at the rear of the structure. They brought Lassiter outside where they determined that he was dead.

Clayman went back inside to see if there were any other occupants, but found none, Dolloff added.

When firefighters first arrived on the scene fire was showing from the front of the home and there was heavy smoke at the rear of the structure. A first alarm was sounded, bringing additional firefighters and equipment from New Hampton, Alexandria, Franklin, and Plymouth to the scene.

Dolloff said firefighters were able to extinguish the main part of the fire in about 15 minutes and had the fire entirely under control about 45 minutes later.

LaRoche and Parisi and three others from the Fire Marshal’s office remained on the scene for five hours conducting the investigation.

The fire started in the kitchen, but investigators are still working to pinpoint the cause, Fire Marshal Investigator Anthony Booth said Monday.

The 500-square-foot mobile home was valued at $9,800, according to town records.

An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was smoke inhalation, Parisi said in a news release to the media.

Booth said investigators were unable to find any smoke detectors inside the home, which he said was built in the 1970s.

This marks the first fatal fire in Bristol in nearly 19 years, Dolloff said. The last fire fatality occurred on Dec. 30, 2001, when a 14-year-old girl died in a fire on West Shore Road.