Woman dies in blaze

Published 11:05 am Tuesday, January 7, 2014

PROCTORVILLE — Investigators are looking into what caused a house fire that claimed the life of a Proctorville woman.

The fire, in the 400 block of Front Street, was reported by a neighbor at 2 a.m. Sunday morning.

The neighbor reported his grandson heard what he thought was an explosion.

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According to a report from the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, Beth McDaniel, 47, was found dead in her home a short distance from the door. A dog also did not survive.

Firefighters from the Proctorville, Rome and Chesapeake volunteer fire departments responded to the blaze. According to the sheriff’s report, firefighters said the house was fully engulfed with flames and part of the roof had collapsed.

The report stated the roof had fallen on the front door and the rear door was blocked by a chain link fence, forcing the firefighters to make entry through a wall.

The home of the neighbor who called 911 also suffered fire damage, but the two adults and four children who lived there were not injured.

A vacant home nearby was also damaged.

Bill Nenni, investigator with the Lawrence County Coroner’s Officer, as well as an investigator with the Ohio State Fire Marshal, were on scene.

Michael Duchesne, assistant director of communications for the fire marshal, said the cause of the fire is undetermined at this time but the origin of the fire is from the kitchen and no working smoke detectors were found in the home.