Firefighters battle blaze that claims woman’s life
DRESDEN, Tenn. — A black ribbon blows in the wind after a tragic fire swept through a house on Gaylord Road near Dresden.
Chief Paul Hutcherson of the Dresden Fire Department says it happened Thursday night around 7:30 p.m. He says when they arrived on scene, he could hear a victim screaming for help from inside.
“After a few tries we were able to drag the 76-year-old gentleman to safety,” said Chief Hutcherson.
The chief said the man was treated by Weakley County EMS where he was given oxygen.
“He was conscience at the time and able to tell us that there was another potential victim inside,” Hutcherson said.
The chief said, even with the aggressive fire and smoke, they had no choice but to go back inside.
“We sent them in and they were able to pretty quickly locate the second potential victim which was a 77-year-old female with certain disabilities,” said Chief Hutcherson.
Dresden firefighters said when they found the woman inside the home, she was on the floor with her wheelchair on top of her.
“They very quickly knocked a rear window out and we were able to access and extricate her and turned her over to Weakley County EMS,” the chief said.
The man was airlifted to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville and the woman to Regional One in Memphis where she later died.
“It’s been a rough 24 hours, and this sounds cliche, but we had firefighters praying on scene for this family,” said Hutcherson, “and I regret their loss.”
Chief Hutcherson said their preliminary investigation points to the fire being electrical, starting in the ceiling above the living room.
He says they are not releasing the name of the woman who died at this time.
Investigators say they have not determined if the home was equipped with smoke alarms.
