Elderly Woman Killed In Oakland House Fire
OAKLAND (CBS SF) - The Alameda County coroner's bureau has identified an elderly woman who was killed in a fire at her Oakland home Wednesday morning as 92-year-old Jimmy Burton.
The one-alarm fire was reported at 5:33 a.m. at a home in the 1900 block of Chestnut Street, Oakland fire Battalion Chief Adrian Sheppard said.
Firefighters found Burton in the home's front room and carried her out. She was unconscious and paramedics performed CPR on her but were unable to resuscitate her, Sheppard said.
Burton was transported to Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, where she died.
Sheppard said Burton had suffered smoke inhalation but didn't appear to have any burns.
The 22 firefighters who responded had the blaze under control by 6:20 a.m., and there was minimal damage to the house, Sheppard said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Sheppard said the home was not equipped with smoke detectors.
Lucille Howard, who lives across the street, said she went outside when she heard the fire trucks arrive and saw firefighters on top of the house "hacking on the roof" amid smoke.
Howard has lived in the neighborhood for 16 years and said that Burton, whom she knew only as "Miss Jimmy," had lived there much longer. She said Burton would sometimes stand outside her home but that she hadn't seen her in a while.
Another neighbor, Mike Jeffries, said Burton had caretakers, and that his family would sometimes take her for walks.
He said his family has lived in the neighborhood for a long time, and that many people on that block know each other and knew Burton.
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