Authorities Say She Was Smoking In Bed
posted September 9, 2007
A 56-year-old woman died in an apartment fire early Sunday morning.
She was identified as Geraldine Appleberry.
The fire broke out around 2:44 a.m. at Rustic Village Apartments at 510 Central Drive.
The woman's 29-year-old son, who lived with his mother in Apartment 816, told firefighters that he woke to the sound of a smoke alarm. The fire was in his mother's bedroom, and when he went to check on her, his mother reportedly told him, "I've got it," so he left their apartment to alert the other residents in the building.
Chattanooga firefighters arrived moments later, and when told that someone was still inside the apartment, they rushed in to get her.
Capt. Charles Patton, the incident commander, said the firefighters found Mrs. Appleberry lying on the floor unconscious next to her bedroom door. They had to force the door open to get to the victim and carry her out.
Capt. Patton said the firefighters administered CPR before handing the victim over to paramedics with Hamilton County EMS.
The paramedics rushed the victim to Erlanger Medical Center, but she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Capt. James Whitmire with the Fire Investigation Division said that, according to a doctor at Erlanger, the Mrs. Appleberry died of severe burns and smoke inhalation.
Capt. Whitmire said the cause of the fire appears to be accidental. Based on information supplied by the victim's son, and by examination of the physical evidence, the woman had been smoking in bed and caught the bed linens on fire.
The fire itself was not all that big when firefighters arrived. Captain Whitmire said they were able to put it out with portable fire extinguishers. The damage to the apartment was relatively minor.
It is the first fire-related fatality in Chattanooga for the year.
Lt. Henry McElvain and Senior Firefighter Andrew Waters are assisting with the investigation.
Detectives with the Chattanooga Police Department's Major Crimes Division are also investigating the incident, which is standard protocol when fatalities are involved.
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