MOUNT VERNON – Firefighters found a woman dead in her flame-filled Mount Vernon apartment early Sunday morning, Mount Vernon Fire Department Chief Chad Christopher said Monday.
The name of the deceased woman has not been released. The Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office and MVFD Investigator Terry Davis are currently investigating the incident.
State Fire Marshal Public Information Officer Brian Bonhert said Monday that no foul play is suspected. He said the cause of death is believed to be smoking while using a home oxygen system, which caused the system to combust.
According to 911 records, the fire department was called to the Arbors of Mt. Vernon apartment complex, located at 1575 Yauger Road, at 12:25 a.m. Sunday. A neighbor called 911 to report a “strange smell,” which had awoken her.
“It’s kind of wafting through the house now,” the caller told dispatch. “We heard a real loud noise, I don’t know if it came from the apartment next door or what it was… And then I came out in the kitchen and I could really smell it, and now it’s kind of, like, in our bedroom. It’s just kind of going through the house.”
After arriving on the scene, a MVFD captain saw fire inside an apartment window, Christopher said. Additional units then responded to the scene – MVFD sent two engines and a command vehicle, while Fredericktown EMS and College Township Fire Department served as mutual aid.
Firefighters discovered that the fire was coming from the apartment’s bedroom, prompting them to pull a handline and perform a “transition attack,” Christopher said. They doused the fire from the outside and then transitioned inside, where they found the woman deceased in her bedroom.
Christopher said there were no other people found inside the apartment. No other injuries were reported, as firefighters were able to contain the flames to the bedroom.
After arriving on the scene, officers from the Mount Vernon Police Department and College Township Fire Department evacuated residents from the five apartments that were connected to the burning residence, Christopher said.
Those residents were assisted by Red Cross until they were allowed back into their apartments “in the early morning hours,” a MVFD press release stated.
The press release added that there were working smoke alarms in the burning apartment.
A representative from Arbors of Mt. Vernon declined to comment on Monday when asked about the incident.
Bonhert said the State Fire Marshal’s Office typically only handles cases involving casualties, high-dollar losses or suspicious activity, although he said there was “nothing suspicious or criminal” about this incident.
State Fire Marshal investigations can last anywhere from 14 days to several months, Bonhert said, as “it really is a case-by-case basis.” However, because the office already believes it has determined a cause of death, Bonhert said this investigation might conclude sooner.
The state office is still waiting on lab results to confirm investigation details before it concludes its investigation, Bonhert said. The official cause and origin of the fire are expected to be included in the final report.
Knox Pages contacted the Knox County Coroner’s Office on Monday, seeking details concerning the identification of the deceased woman. The office did not issue a response as of press time.
While Christopher wasn’t sure of the last time a fatal house fire occurred in Mount Vernon, he said that, unfortunately, this type of tragedy seems to occur annually.
“It obviously is terrible, any time we lose somebody in a fire. It seems like just about every year or every other year we do lose somebody in a house fire,” said Christopher, who has served as Mount Vernon’s fire chief since 2013.
“It’s tragic when that happens, but a lot of times, if you follow the right safety precautions and have your smoke detectors, these deaths can be prevented.”
Christopher added that the department typically sees more fires during the winter months “because of wood burners, auxiliary heating sources, propane heaters and things like that.”
We will update this story as more information becomes available.
