| Deadly house fire under investigation |
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Posted: Tuesday, July 31, 2012 10:00 pm
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By CHRIS MENEES
Staff Reporter
An elderly woman was found dead in a house fire Monday morning near Hornbeak.
The incident remains under investigation today and authorities have not disclosed the name of the victim.
Hornbeak Fire Chief Bob Reavis said the fire was reported at 9:22 a.m. Monday at a residence on North Shawtown Road, about 21⁄2 miles outside Hornbeak.
Firefighters from the Hornbeak Volunteer Fire Department responded, with assistance provided by the neighboring Troy Volunteer Fire Department and some personnel from Samburg-Reelfoot Volunteer Fire Department.
“We received an alarm at that address and arrived on the scene to find smoke showing in the front of the house,” Reavis told The Messenger.
A bystander told firefighters there was a victim at the back door, according to Reavis, who said fire personnel immediately grabbed their medical gear and went to the back of the house. There, they found the occupant was deceased.
Reavis said firefighters began their firefighting efforts and contained the fire to the kitchen area of the house. They went through the home and did a complete search, determining no one else was inside.
“It was a really fast knock-down (of the fire). It was a fairly small fire,” Reavis said.
Reavis said the scene was handed over to the Obion County Sheriff’s Department since there was a fatality involved. The incident remains under investigation by both the sheriff’s department and a state arson investigator.
The body of the elderly female victim has been sent for autopsy.
Staff Reporter Chris Menees may be contacted by email at cmenees@ucmessenger.com. Published in The Messenger 7.31.12 |
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