The county fire marshal has labled Thursday's fire in Lawrence, N.Y., as suspicious.
Investigators are focusing attention on a stairway leading to a pair of second-floor apartments where 12 people lived. Eight people survived the flames by jumping out second-story windows because the stairway was filled with flames.
The building's ground floor was occupied by a coin-operated laundry. But there was no fire damage to that business, which was closed when the blaze was reported around 5:30 a.m.
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