Elderly woman perishes in house fire
Thursday, May 15, 2008
MASON — An elderly woman trapped inside a burning home didn't make it out alive.
Firefighters responded to 105 Castanea Drive just before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 14, to a brick ranch home with its back side engulfed in flames.
Extras
An adult woman, who escaped uninjured with her two children, told firefighters that her mother, who was in her 70s, was still inside the back area of the home that was on fire, said Mason Fire Chief John Moore.
Firefighters entered the home through the front door, but were forced to retreat when the roof and ceiling collapsed in the back area of the home, Moore said.
After knocking down the flames, firefighters discovered the woman's body in the back area of the home, where the fire may have originated.
Officials have not released the name of the woman killed or her daughter, however, the home is owned by Aslee Engelman, according to property records from the Warren County Auditor' Office Web site.
Moore said the mother had alerted her daughter to the fire, but then may have gotten trapped by flames or heavy smoke.
"I don't know what kept her from escaping," Moore said. "We heard nothing to confirm that anyone was in the house. No screams or yells."
Several members of the Mason First Church of God gathered at the end of Castanea Drive watching anxiously as firefighters worked to locate the woman they believed to be their friend and fellow church member, Aslee Engelman.
Church member Chloris Pace, whose husband taught Engelman's children at Mason Central, said Engelman, the mother of six children, was born in Tennessee but has lived in Mason since the early 1960s.
Pace said Engleman walked everywhere she went, including to the Mason First Church of God about four miles away.
"She was a wonderful Christian lady. She never talked about anyone. If she couldn't say anything good, she wouldn't say anything," Pace said.
Vickie Larrick said Engleman recently had altered her daughter's wedding dress and all of the brides' maids dresses but wouldn't take any payment. Larrick said Engleman was excited about the upcoming wedding, and that the dress alterations were "her gift for my girls."
The church members had gotten word about the fire through their church's prayer chain.
Many cried and embraced each other when they heard that their friend had perished in the fire.
It is not known what killed the woman, and the blaze remains under investigation.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2122 or rwilson@coxohio.com.
