Elderly woman dies in fatal Trumbull County fire

Staff report

MECCA

Fire officials say they will wait for the state fire marshal’s office to determine what started a 12:44 p.m. house fire that killed a disabled 75-year-old woman Monday at 7199 Phillips-Rice Road.

The woman’s daughter and son-in-law saw the fire start and attempted to put it out, but they were unable to, and they were unable to get the woman out, said Mecca Fire Chief Curt Woofter.

The woman had health issues that made it impossible for her to walk, and her size would have made it difficult for someone to lift her, officials said.

The first emergency responder at the scene was a Trumbull County deputy sheriff, who broke the window in the room near the front door where the woman was located, but he was unable to get inside, Woofter said.

The house was fully engulfed in flames when Cortland firefighters arrived. Mecca firefighters arrived second and helped Cortland extinguish the flames in the small, one-story home about 6 miles north of Cortland and just south of Mahan-Denman Road.

The woman was already dead when firefighters reached her. She was still seated in a chair.

Her body was taken from the scene in an ambulance about 3:15 p.m.

The home was a total loss.

Several fire departments assisted with the fire, and the investigation was being conducted by the fire marshals and Trumbull County Fire Investigative Unit.