An overheated electrical extension cord in the living room started the Sunday fire that killed Lynn Etheridge-Michel, 53, and her son Jakob Michel, 16, in their home at 42 Nathaniel St., according to members of the Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad and state troopers from the state fire marshal's office.

Etheridge-Michel was found upstairs and her son on the first floor where the fire started, said Springfield Fire Department spokesman Dennis Leger. The state medical examiner's office determined both died of smoke asphyxiation, Leger said.

Fire officials said earlier this week the house did not have smoke detectors.

Following the fire, Pine Point residents criticized the 2003 decision to shut down the nearby Massreco fire station. The station is less than a mile from Nathaniel Street and in need of major repairs, according to fire officials.

According to obituaries supplied to The Republican, Etheridge-Michel was a native of Key West, Fla., who moved to Western Massachusetts 30 years ago. She worked as a senior accountant.

She leaves a husband, Quentin Michel, and a son, Ethan Michel.

Jakob Michel attended city schools and also enrolled in Youth Works, a Springfield-based work-force development program that is a division of the FutureWorks Career Center.

A joint memorial service for the mother and son has been scheduled for noon Saturday at First Baptist Church, 760 Main St., Agawam.

Leger said two people died in fires last year.