Fire officials say the fire Monday morning that killed mother and daughter in Mason City was accidental. Forty-year-old Madonna Anderson and her ten-year-old daughter, Veronica, died after an unattended pan of oil was left on a stove, causing a blaze in their part of a duplex in northeast Mason City shortly after 12:10 Monday morning.
Mason City Fire Marshal Mark Christiansen says it appears that another resident of the duplex, Damian Crabb, had placed the oil on the stove and was going to cook corn dogs, when his dog that was tied up outside started barking, and in an attempt to quiet it down, took it for a walk.
Crabb told authorities that he walked it for two to three blocks, and when he got back, the kitchen was on fire. Officials say charges will not be filed against Crabb.