Burned Warren officer still not ‘out of woods’

WARREN — Doug Hipple, the Warren police officer who rushed in to a burning group home for mentally disabled people April 27 on Bonnie Brae Avenue Northeast to try to save the three women inside, is semiconscious but still not “out of the woods,” his brother said.

Hipple, who received burns to his body and lungs when he and the three women inside the house became trapped, is in the Akron Children’s Hospital Burn Center.

Hipple’s brother, Dave, said doctors are hopeful that Hipple will recover from his injuries but said, “it’s “still up in the air.”

Dave Hipple said his brother is not walking yet.

No information was available Tuesday night on the three women, who were also taken to the hospital. They are Sheree Egry, 53, Donna Cassidy, 52, and Melissa Watson, 44.

Police have made no arrests in the case. The fire was ruled an arson.