Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Personal Injury Law Blogs -> Norfolk-Portsmouth Personal Injury Lawyer

Personal Injury Law

: Norfolk-Portsmouth Personal Injury Lawyer

Home electrical fire blamed in death of York County woman

By Emily Mapp Brannon

Investigators believe an electrical problem caused a home fire Wednesday morning that killed Sandra Dudley, the Daily Press reported.

A Dominion Virginia Power meter reader, spotting smoke coming from the home at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday, called in the alarm, according to the Daily Press. Firefighters were called to the home, on Yorkshire Drive just off Yorktown Road in Tabb, but Dudley could not be saved.

Firefighters found Dudley, 46, unconscious on the second floor. She was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Riverside Regional Medical Center with burns and smoke inhalation.

York County, Poquoson and Langley Air Force Base firefighters all responded to the scene. York County Fire and Life Safety Capt. Paul Long told the Daily Press that this was the first fatal house fire in York County since 2005.

Long said the fire, which started in a second-floor bedroom, was caused by an electrical issue.

About 440 people are killed each year and 1,420 injured in home electrical fires, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Overall, home wiring cause 46,000 fires and $434 in property losses annually.

The commission suggests these ways to prevent home electrical fires:

– Have your electrical system inspected

– Have defects fixed

– Install smoke detectors

– Practice escaping in case of a fire

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm (VA-NC law offices ) edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY, who handle car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more.

(MM)

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Emily Mapp Brannon

Full post as published by Norfolk-Portsmouth Personal Injury Lawyer on August 14, 2009 (boomark / email).