Benton County Woman Killed in Early Morning Fire
BENTON COUNTY, Tenn. – An early morning fire just outside Camden claimed the life of 51-year-old Kathy Brown Tuesday. Tuesday evening friends searched the scorched home for her beloved cat and any other salvageable items. Thomas Douglas lives next door to the fire and says it all feels like a bad dream. “It hurts that somebody is gone now, forever, it… it just hurts,” Douglas said. Neighbors say explosions from Brown’s home woke them. “Electricity was shooting out and the pick up truck blew up. It was just a bad bad deal,” Douglas said. Fire fighters arrived just before 3:00 a.m. Eva, Chalk Level and Camden Fire Department all responded. After fire fighters battled the blaze a body was discovered on the back porch. Friends say they think she was trying to escape. “[The Investigator] said ‘she made it to the back porch’,” Douglas said. “He asked if it was enclosed and I said “No’, and that’s where they found her remains,” he said. The Fire Department says they wanted to stop the flames from reaching the school across the street. Fire fighters battled the blaze for nearly ten hours. “We had 16 people all on hoses,” Chief Jerry Pierce said. ” And we just contained it to that one house.” Local and State Officials are now trying to piece together the last moments of Kathy Brown’s life, to determine if any foul play may have occurred. “They’re looking for walls burnt completely out, the charring of wood, holes in the floor that sort of thing,” Chief Pierce said. Brown lived alone in the home and loved ones say also suffered from stage four cancer. She had no family in the area. Friends describe her as a kind woman who went out of her way to help others. They say she spent the entire year gathering presents for needy children for Christmas. “She was my neighbor and you know it’s just bad, it hurts,” Douglas said. “And she had such a hard time.” Friends of Kathy Brown are coming together to pay for her funeral arrangements. Those interested in helping out for the service are encouraged to call the Oakdale Funeral Home in Camden (731) 584-4343.
