WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. --
A Palm Beach County sheriff's deputy's girlfriend was killed in an early-morning house fire Thursday after calling 911 to say her television was on fire.
The fire started shortly before 6 a.m. at the deputy's home in the 2500 block of Nassau Road.
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, a woman reported that her television was on fire and she couldn't put it out. When firefighters arrived, the back of the home was fully engulfed in flames and smoke.
After firefighters extinguished the blaze, they found Pamela Dassdorf, 63, dead in a bathroom next to a bedroom.
Deputies said Dassdorf lived at the home with the deputy, who was visiting his sick father at the time of the fire.
"It's a very sad day for us because, obviously, it involves one of our own," Lt. Marco Martinez said. "It's a very sad thing to see, especially when someone that you've know for many years loses a loved one, and especially a tragic situation like today."
Arson investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire, but a preliminary investigation indicates it was accidental.
Copyright 2009 by WPBF.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
