Deadly house fire claims third victim

The Messenger 01.21.13

By CHRIS MENEES
Staff Reporter
A third person died over the weekend as the result of injuries sustained in a fire early Friday at a home in north Union City.
Mary Jackson, 76, died Saturday at Regional Medical Center (the Med) in Memphis, where she had been airlifted as a result of serious injuries she sustained in the blaze.
The fire also claimed the lives of Ms. Jackson’s children, Henry Jackson Jr., who reportedly had marked his 61st birthday Thursday, and Lola Jackson Holland, 54.
Funeral arrangements for all three will be announced by Rawls Funeral Home.
The deadly fire broke out shortly before 3 a.m. Friday at the family’s home at 830 East Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Union City. Police and firefighters arrived to find the older model one-story home already engulfed in flames and several vehicles also on fire in front of the house.
Union City firefighters were assisted by the neighboring Martin, Troy and Rives fire departments.
Police investigators said Friday that a neighbor reported the fire about 2:50 a.m. and a police patrol officer reported he arrived on the scene to find Ms. Jackson, who has sustained severe burns, walking away from the burning home. She indicated there were two more people inside, including her disabled son, and the officer said he tried to go inside to check but the smoke and fire had already become too intense.
Ms. Jackson was transported for medical treatment but fire officials said there was no possibility of rescuing the other two victims from the home due to the intensity of the blaze.
Union City Fire Chief Kelly Edmison told The Messenger Friday that Ms. Jackson reportedly told someone at the local hospital that she awoke, saw the fire and was trying to help her son and daughter escape from the home they shared. Union City police investigator Lt. Andy Gibson said she was severely burned while assisting and was taken to the Med’s burn unit, where she was in serious condition after the fire.
Ms. Holland’s son, Michael Holland, was spending the night elsewhere and was not home when the fire broke out, according to police.
Authorities did not yet know the cause of the fire Friday, but they said foul play is not suspected. The home burned very hot and very quickly, leaving only a charred skeleton of a structure at the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and North Clover Street.
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Staff Reporter Chris Menees may be contacted by email at cmenees@ ucmessenger.com.