A lawsuit filed almost a year after a Grove City man died in a house fire blames the death on his apartment not meeting the safety code, including smoke alarms and a fire escape.

A state police fire marshal ruled in January that the fire was accidentally caused by the mother of the victim, 21-year-old Jason Gladd.

The blaze occurred early Dec. 30 at 635 S. Center St. when Theresa Donahey, 52, was lighting a cigarette. The tube to her oxygen machine caught fire, igniting a couch, according to fire marshal Kurt Kurtyka.

Ms. Donahey alerted a woman and her 5-year-old daughter, who occupied the first-floor apartment, and they were able to escape unharmed, but she was unable to warn her son, who was in his bedroom on the third floor.

Gladd died of smoke inhalation, officials said at the time.

Borough Manager Terry Farren said there is no ordinance in Grove City requiring landlords to place smoke alarms in rental properties. According to the 2000 census, there are about 1,000 rental properties in the borough.