An elderly Peachtree City woman died Sunday, but officials are unsure if it happened before or after her recliner caught fire, causing severe burns.

The woman suffered from a disability and it’s possible she might have died before the fire started, said Fire Marshal John Dailey. She was in the recliner that was located in the basement of a home in the Crabapple Woods subdivision when the emergency call was made around 5:30 a.m. Sunday, Dailey said.

Officials have not released the victim’s name early this afternoon because it was unclear if all family members had been notified yet.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation and “is not obvious,” Dailey said, noting that an engineer will assist him in reviewing the case to determine the cause.

“The police department is involved because the fire itself is in question,” Dailey said.

The basement had been built as an apartment in which the woman was living, Dailey said.

When medics responded to the scene they had to extinguish the fire before extricating the victim from the chair, Dailey said. The woman was flown to the burn unit at Grady Medical Center by the Rescue Air service, he said.

login to post comments