BLACK BROOK — The fire that killed a local man and injured his wife Sunday was caused by a cigarette.

New York State Police and Clinton County fire investigators are continuing their probe into the fatal fire Sunday afternoon at 830 Silver Lake Road in the Town of Black Brook.

Fire crews found Vernon L. Hoover, 66, dead in his home after fighting their way into the burning structure.

Sandra L. Hoover, 62, sustained injuries as a result of the fire. She was treated at CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh and was released Monday afternoon.

An autopsy is scheduled for today, but State Police said the fire has been ruled accidental, caused by a cigarette that caught the living-room couch on fire.

Mr. and Mrs. Hoover were home when the fire started in the house shared with their daughter, Kimberly Hoover, 39; her boyfriend, Ken. St. Germaine, 32; and her daughter, Caressa Hoover, 14.

From across the street, neighbor Timothy Seguin was having a cookout when he noticed the blaze.

“It happened so quick,” Seguin said Monday.

“Me and a guy on a motorcycle — whose name I still don’t know — went to the door.”

Mrs. Hoover was near the door, trying to exit the home when the pair arrived. Seguin said she was put on his shoulders so they could remove her from the house.

But the oxygen tanks that the couple utilized were caught by the flames.

“When they blew, we went down the ground,” Seguin said.

By the time he and the motorcyclist had Mrs. Hoover safely away from the home, nearly 20 people were on the property, he said.

“I wasn’t the only one to help.”

With Mrs. Hoover safe, they tried to go back inside for her husband, but the flames were just too hot.