HILLTOWN, Pa. - Authorities say floor-to-ceiling clutter contributed to the deaths of two people in a fire at a suburban Philadelphia home earlier this week.

Eighty-three-year-old James Betancourt and 74-year-old Katherine Miller died in the fire Monday in Hilltown Township, Bucks County. Miller's son survived by climbing out a window.

Ed Miller told the Bucks County Courier Times he tried to reach his mother but was overcome by smoke and had to get out.

Hilltown police Chief Christopher Engelhart told KYW-AM the piled-up belongings made it hard for firefighters to battle the blaze and fueled the flames.

Authorities say the fire appears to have been started by a cigarette left on the home's porch.

Related Two Dead in Hilltown Twp. Fire

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