AVON FIRE CLAIMS WOMAN’S LIFE

Avon – A late night fire in Avon claimed the life of an elderly woman who had lived in the home for over 10 years.

Assistant Chief Golay of the Avon Fire Department said they received a call at 10:55 p.m. Sunday night from a neighbor reporting a house fire. When Firefighters arrived Golay said that they found smoke and flames coming from the structure located at 1991 Applewood Ct.

Jack M. Blakemore lives in a home that is attached to 1991 Applewood Ct. – Blakemore said he started smelling smoke and then began investigating where the smell was coming from. “I first went through my house and couldn’t find any problems and then when I looked next door I saw the smoke and fire coming from her house.”

Blakemore quickly went back into his house and called the Fire Department and then he tried to help his neighbor. “Without thinking too much I went to the back yard and got my garden hose and started putting water on the fire. In my head I knew the fire was just too much, but what are you going to do – just stand there? I couldn’t do that, I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.”

Moments later Blakemore said Firefighters arrived and got him away from the structure and began battling the blaze. Firefighters had the fire under control in about 20 minutes according to Assistant Chief Golay.

Golay said that the fire originated in the bedroom and although there was some extension, the bedroom sustained a bulk of the damage. The victim was found dead inside of the bedroom by Firefighters.

Golay said that the County Coroner has not yet positively identified the body and was not sure that all of the family has been notified.

Blakemore said that the victim was a good neighbor and a friend, a friend that he would help out whenever in need. “I would be over there helping fix things in the house whenever she needed something. She had a hard time getting around so if I could help I would.” Blakemore remembered a day when the woman returned home from grocery shopping and told him that she had forgotten her cane inside of the shopping cart – Blakemore told her to wait in her car for a moment while he went to his garage and retrieved a cane that had belonged to his father.

While talking Blakemore kept going back to saying he wished he could have done more. “People asked me if I yelled into the house – I didn’t, I don’t know why. Maybe it was because I am not sure what I would have done if she had answered. The idea of even getting that close to the house with the garden hose – I’m not sure that was the smartest thing to do, but in that situation you don’t think I guess. I worked in a Casting Plant for 26 years and supervised guys to make sure they were safe in the plant and here I am doing something like this. When it’s your neighbor though, you don’t think with your head I suppose, you don’t think about your own safety – you’re only thinking about your neighbor.”

UPDATE:Officials have released the name of the fire victim as 63-year-old Claudia Sherry. Although Sherry was a smoker it is not clear if she had been smoking in bed – due to extensive fire damage the cause may never be determined.

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