Witnesses: West Virginia Fire Victim Went Back Into Burning House
NEWELL, W.Va. --
One person was killed in a double house fire in Hancock County on Friday.
The fire started around 2:30 a.m. at a home on Jefferson Street in Newell and quickly spread to a house next door.
Witnesses said they saw someone run out of the first home, but the person went back inside. Firefighters said they found the victim on the first floor of the home.
The fire caused the floors to cave in, windows to rip out and the house was gutted.
One of the survivors, Nancy Debee, said she and her handicapped mother were asleep when the fire broke out.
"When we woke up, I heard popping. There was a glow inside her bedroom window," Debee said.
She said her first and only thought was to get her mother out safely. When they escaped, police had already arrived.
Newell Fire Chief Scott Wilson said the homes on the street are so close that crews were concerned the fire would spread even further. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze.
Debee said she is devastated by the death and said she is fortunate she was at her mother's home. She said she had been caring for her mother, who is ill, and fears her mother may not have made it out alive had she not been there.
"That's the most upsetting part, because we can replace what we have, but we just are thankful that we are out," she said.
The body of the victim was with the state medical examiner.
A fire marshal was investigating the cause of the blaze. Stay with NEWS9 and WTOV9.com for continuing coverage as details become available.
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