OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say careless smoking caused a boarding house fire that killed two people in southeast Omaha.

The Omaha Fire Department said Tuesday that improperly discarded smoking materials started the fire in some clothes on Dec. 23.

The department says a witness reported that he and another person had been smoking in the basement room where the fire started. The unnamed witness escaped. But 27-year-old Eddie Valentine and 37-year-old Demetria Sanchez died later of smoke inhalation.