HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — A Hagerstown fire official says a burning candle started a blaze at an apartment complex that left one man dead over the winter.

City Fire Marshal Doug DeHaven said Tuesday that the candle on top of the stove ignited combustibles nearby and then spread to a trash can. Forty-one-year-old Francisco Louis Albright died of smoke inhalation.

DeHaven told The Herald-Mail investigators concluded Albright turned on the kitchen faucet to douse the flames. But when his efforts failed, he turned his attention to rescuing a cat from a back bedroom. The cat also perished.

DeHaven says the fire was small and he believes Albright succumbed to the smoke as he tried to flee the building.

The fire marshal has previously said a sprinkler system “clearly” would have prevented Albright’s death.

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Information from: The Herald-Mail of Hagerstown, Md., http://www.herald-mail.com