A space heater is to blame for starting at least one of two fires on Tuesday.
One fire claimed the life of a Birmingham woman. Hers is the third fire death this winter.
The 6 a.m. fire brought police investigators to the city's east side, where a victim was found inside a duplex home on Naples Avenue.
"The flames were coming out the front just straight out," said eyewitness Julie Sales. "You couldn't see anything but fire."
"Unfortunately, we had a 22-year-old female who'd gotten out of the fire and reportedly went back into the fire," said Birmingham fire Capt. C.W. Mardis. "Unfortunately, she was trapped and is now recorded as a fire fatality."
Firefighters battled the blaze for an hour and a half and will likely have many more battles, since the fire season is just beginning.
Firefighters hope that they can prevent fires and deaths from fires through public education.
"We put a lot of effort into it to save lives," Mardis said. "Its a really big letdown for the guys because we know they've done everything they can to prevent this from happening."
One man was injured and received treatment at UAB Hospital. Investigators are still trying to figure out why the woman killed in the fire tried to return to her home while it was in flames.
An apartment fire in Hoover Tuesday morning has left a dozen families without a home.
The fire was at Wood Gardens Apartments just off Lorna Road.
One building was affected.
No one was seriously injured although one person was treated for smoke inhalation. There's no word on the cause of the fire.
Copyright 2005 by NBC13.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Have a comment about this story? E-mail us at [email protected].
