The victim in a Front Royal house fire in November likely sparked the blaze by smoking while on oxygen treatment, investigators say.
The Warren County Department of Fire and Rescue Services and other agencies have concluded the investigation into the Nov. 24 blaze at 240 Blue Ridge Ave., Assistant Fire Chief Gerry Maiatico said by phone Monday. The agency also identified the victim as 72-year-old Linda Watkins.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Watkins’ accidental death and that she died from thermal injuries, according to an email from the agency Friday.
The Fire Marshal’s Office determined that the victim’s “improper use of smoking materials” contributed to the blaze, according to a media release issued Monday by the county department. Maiatico said Watkins was “smoking while wearing an oxygen-treatment device.”
“While the circumstances in the incident are certainly unfortunate for our community, it does serve as a reminder for those who partake in smoking any type of smoking material — a cigarette or any other material — to use and exercise caution,” Maiatico said. “Don’t underestimate the dangers associated with that, as well as making sure that your homes are equipped with working smoke alarms.”
The department offers free smoke alarms to residents who don’t already have them, Maiatico said.
“I also, too, want to extend…obviously our condolences but our sincere gratitude to the family of the victim,” Maiatico said. “They were extremely helpful and instrumental in the investigation and, quite frankly, very patient through the intensive and long investigative process.”
Investigators incorporated the information from the chief medical examiner as they worked on the case, Maiatico said. They concluded the investigation in early April.
The severity of the victim’s injuries made it difficult to positively identify her remains and increased the time it took to conclude the investigation, Maiatico said.
The fire and rescue department received an alert shortly before 7:20 am for a residential structure fire at 240 Blue Ridge Ave. Firefighters arrived and requested a second alarm for additional crews because of the significance of the fire and a report of a resident trapped in the house. Firefighters entered the house to search for the resident. But fire conditions worsened to the point that officials worried about the safety of the structure. Firefighters pulled back and fought the blaze from outside the house. Crews brought the fire under control, went back into the house, and found the victim.
Officials turned the scene over to the Fire Marshal’s Office, which initiated its investigation into where the fire started and what caused the blaze. The agency conducted its probe in conjunction with the Front Royal Police Department’s investigation into the death. The Fire Marshal’s Office worked in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Loudoun County Fire Marshal’s Office Canine Division and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner positively identified the victim as Watkins. Investigators determined that Watkins was the sole occupant in the house at the time of the fire.
The house has remained vacant and uninhabitable since the fire.
Anyone with information pertaining to the fire is encouraged to call Assistant Fire Marshal Austin Cucciardo at 540-636-3830 or email [email protected].
