Deadly fire caused by smoking in bed

A fire that killed a 49-year-old woman at the Bel-Air 7 Motel in Spokane on Tuesday morning was caused by smoking in bed, officials said Thursday. Spokane fire officials said the 9 a.m. fire at 1303 E. Sprague Ave. is being ruled accidental. The identity of the woman was withheld Thursday pending notification of family members. She was pronounced dead at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center a short time after firefighters pulled her from her smoke-filled room on the first floor of the two-story motel.