Woman dies in fire at Beaver Twp. home

Her next-door neighbor said he will miss her.

By ALISON KEMP

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

NORTH LIMA — The house was still smoking roughly 12 hours after a fatal, early Monday fire at 1461 W. Western Reserve Road in Beaver Township.

The home’s only resident, Gay Holloway, 61, was killed.

Fire crews from Beaver, Springfield and Green townships responded to calls after midnight and found that the house was fully engulfed.

Firefighters were unable to enter the house until after 3 a.m., neighbor Don LoGiudice said.

Once the fire was controlled, firefighters could open the front door — the side door that was commonly used had already burned down, along with the garage. Holloway was found in the entryway.

LoGiudice said he awoke to his phone ringing around 1 a.m. The Beaver Township Fire Department wanted to know how many people were inside the home.

He said he will miss his neighbor because they always looked out for each other. They had lived next door to each other for 35 years, LoGiudice said.

“I got along good with her. She was a good neighbor,” he said.

Shane Cartmill, a spokesman for the state fire marshal’s office, said the fire remains under investigation.

The location where the fire started and the reason are not yet known, he said. On-scene investigations will be conducted in the next several days.

Cartmill didn’t know yet if smoke detectors were in Holloway’s home, but he said he is taking this fire as an opportunity to remind everyone of the necessity of smoke detectors.

He also warns residents to be careful of holiday decorations and heating systems.