ST. GEORGE — A house fire in suburban St. Louis killed an 81-year-old woman Monday night, St. Louis County police said.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on its Web site Tuesday that Mary K. Lavsa was found inside the front door of her home in the south St. Louis County community of St. George after authorities were called about 11 p.m. Monday.
St. Louis County police said the fire is not considered suspicious.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation. But one of the woman's neighbors told police Lavsa was smoking a cigarette on the front porch just before the fire started.