Incident # 21-8464 - Fire-Rescue was alerted to a structure fire at 1226 Shawnee Lane Thursday evening 25-November at 17:57. The home is located on a small dead end rural dirt road north of the Town of Smoaks. A neighbor's son reported seeing an orange glow across a field and told his parents the home was on fire. They called 9-1-1 and ran to the residence to assist. The home was occupied by a 94 year old wheelchair bound woman. The two reported seeing flames coming from several windows in the house and the front porch was on fire. They kicked in the back door but flames erupted from the doorway, driving them away from the building. They made other attempts to get inside to rescue the woman, but were driven away by the smoke and flames. Engine 7 arrived minutes later to find the single story wood frame dwelling fully involved with fire coming from all of the windows and roof. Firefighter-Paramedics deployed multiple hand lines to the structure. After battling the blaze for approximately 25 minutes crews were able to enter the structure. Sadly, the woman was found deceased in the middle of the building. The Coroner's Office was notified and responded to the scene. The fire appears to have started in the front living room of the home and spread to the rest of the building. The exact cause is under investigation. Fire units were on the scene for five hours.
