Fire officials in Hamilton are continuing to investigate the cause of a fatal fire on Thanksgiving Day.

Christopher J. Tobergte, 37, of 724 Pine St. was pronounced dead around 11 a.m. Nov. 22 after firefighters responded about 9:30 a.m. to a fully-involved house fire.

Neighbors called in the fire, and residents living on either side of the home had attempted to help the man escape the blaze by trying to force open the front and rear doors, according to officials.

Tobergte — a 1993 graduate of Fairfield High School — died of smoke inhalation due to a house fire, according to the Butler County Coroner’s Office, which conducted an autopsy. The death has been ruled accidental.

Tobergte’s stepmother Pat Tobergte said Christopher had the biggest heart of anyone she knew. She said after her grandson Ethan died in 2002, Christopher spent three months raising $1,300 for a memorial.

“He would do anything for everybody,” Pat Tobergte said.

Pat Tobergte said Christopher enjoyed sports and cheering for the Cincinnati Reds and the Ohio State Buckeyes. She said Christopher lived in Fairfield most of his life, but had resided on Pine Street in Hamilton for about five years.

“We love him and miss him terribly,” Pat Tobergte said. “The way he died is hard to get past.”

Fire Investigator Thomas Angst said the exact cause of the fire has not yet been determined. The investigation is ongoing, and the insurance company is helping to determine if the cause was electrical.

“It appears to be an accidental fire of some sort,” Angst said. “The house was not struck by lightning and there were no signs of accelerant. … each is a little piece of the puzzle.”

Angst added that the resident was also a smoker, which hasn’t been ruled out as a cause.

Christopher Tobergte is survived by his father Kenneth (Patricia) Tobergte; brothers Jeff and Brian Tobergte; stepbrother Tim Jaworski; two nieces and four nephews. He was preceded in death by one nephew.

Funeral arrangements are pending at Colligan Funeral Home in Hamilton.

Angst said the city’s last fatal fire was the day before Thanksgiving in 2011. Warren Prather, 74, was killed Nov. 23, 2011 after his home caught fire in the 100 block of Hanover Street. Just two weeks earlier, 78-year-old Charles Dunaway was killed in a house fire on Sycamore Street.