Elderly Woman Dies In Kennedale House Fire
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TARRANT COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) - An elderly woman died after a fire broke out inside her home. Neighbors describe the woman, whose name has not been released, "very sweet and very warm." She was in hospice care.
Neighbors said they could see flames coming from the house in the 600 block of Hillside Drive and could hear smoke detectors going off.
"Smoke was coming out of that window," neighbor Paul Monreal said pointing. "The flames were real high."
Emergency crews were called about 3:36 p.m. and arrived about five minutes later.
Fire Chief Mike McMurray was in the first unit to arrive at the scene and was immediately told, by a neighbor, that an 86-year-old woman was believed to still be inside the house -- possibly in a room engulfed in flames.
McMurray told CBS 11 News, "With that much smoke, I don't know how anyone could have escaped that fire."
Crews were able to put out the fire and did indeed find the woman's body. First responders say it's possible the woman died of smoke inhalation, but that the cause of death would have to be determined by the Medical Examiner's Officer.
Friends say the woman's only close family, her husband, died 10 years ago.
The house was heavily damaged. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but those who knew the woman said she was a smoker. One neighbor said, "There was smoke… uh, cigarette burns on the carpet all the time. I talked her one time and said, 'you need to quit smoking or use an ashtray.'"
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