News

Actions

UPDATE: Fire engulfs Henrico home; kills 69-year-old woman

Posted at 9:39 PM, Mar 29, 2012
and last updated 2012-03-30 20:54:13-04

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) - A 69-year-old woman has died after a house fire Thursday night along the 9500 block of Hoke Brady Road in Henrico County.

Anna Crewe

Henrico Fire Captain James Mellon said Friday that Anna Marie Crewe’s body was discovered just inside the kitchen on the home's first floor.

[READ MORE: Heartbroken family talks about fire that killed Henrico grandmother]

The medical examiner said she died from smoke inhalation.

The woman's 28-year-old grandson was upstairs, inside the house, when he heard the smoke detector going off.

He came downstairs, saw smoke, grabbed his grandmother and was trying to get her to the front door. He told fire crews that she was following him, but that when he reached the front door, she was no longer there.

Officials said it is unclear if she turned around or became disoriented.

Firefighters arrived at the home around 7 p.m.to find it completely engulfed in flames. They couldn’t enter the house so they had to fight the fire from outside to get inside.

They said that a water tanker truck had to be called in because they had a hard time finding a fire hydrant. The closest was three and a half miles away, said Capt. James Mellon.

The damage was so bad  investigators said it could be awhile before they pinpoint the cause of the fire.