A 35-year-old woman died early Monday in a house fire near uptown Charlotte.
The fire hydrant nearest the burning house on Pegram Street near Parkwood Avenue did not work, but the malfunction didn't slow firefighters as much as the condition of the home did, Capt. Rob Brisley said.
Brisley described the condition of the home, where at least five men were staying, as "deplorable." He said it was extremely cluttered and the basement appeared to be divided into makeshift rooms.
It was unclear Monday whether the entire house had electricity or whether it was equipped with smoke alarms, Brisley said.
The woman, whose name wasn't released because her family had not been notified, was found in the basement, which is accessible only from the outside of the house. The homeowner, Logan McCaskill, said she did not live there and he did not know she was inside until firefighters carried her body out.
A man who identified himself as McCaskill's son said the woman was visiting one of the other men staying there. McCaskill said he and his two sons live in the house and allow a few others to stay there because they have no place to go.
Brisley said a fire hydrant less than 300 feet from the house did not work. While the first crew sprayed water from their truck, a second hooked a hose to a hydrant about 1,000 feet away.
He said more firefighters could have been searching the house sooner if the hydrant had not malfunctioned, but that it's impossible to know whether the short delay would have made a difference for the woman.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said they are waiting for autopsy results to determine the cause of her death. Police said they do not suspect foul play.
Fire hydrants in Charlotte are tested once a year, Brisley said. Firefighters didn't know the one on Pegram was out of order until they tried to use it. He said firefighters notified the water department about the broken hydrant Monday.
Fire investigators were trying to determine the cause of the 4 a.m. fire, which they estimated did about $90,000 in damage.
Two men who live in the house said they thought the blaze was started by a candle burning in a basement bedroom.
At least five people were there when the fire broke out. Everyone except the woman escaped without serious injury, Brisley said.
Distributed by the Associated Press
