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A 21-year-old city man died in a single home fire at 176 Potter Street this morning.
The New Bedford Fire Department received a 911 call this morning around 7:15 a.m. reporting the house fire. Although the fire was quickly extinguished by New Bedford Fire officials, one individual who was upstairs at the time the fire started did die in the fire. The deceased has been identified as Jaxson Leahy, 21, of the same Potter Street address.
The initial investigation has preliminarily revealed that the fire started in the downstairs living room of the home and was likely caused by improper disposal of smoking materials. There were six people inside the home at the time of the fire. Aside from the deceased, no others were injured during the blaze.
The State Fire Marshall’s Office is on scene and is investigating, along with New Bedford Fire and Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to this office, to confirm the cause of the fire at this time.
