Elderly woman killed in fire

By Patrick Cooley
BARLOW — A 76-year-old woman was found dead after a fire at her home was extinguished Friday by three volunteer fire departments.

Rosemary Hall, 76, of Barlow was home at the time of the fire and was dead by the time firefighters arrived, according to Barlow Volunteer Fire Department. The house was engulfed in flames and the center of the roof had collapsed when they arrived.

A cause of death has not been determined.

According to Sgt. Mark Hiatt, a detective with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, a school bus driver running his route Friday noticed the fire and called 911 at 6 a.m.

Barlow fire Chief Troy Eddleblute said 30 firefighters and emergency squad members from Dunham Township, Wesley Township and Barlow volunteer fire departments responded to the blaze.

“We got there approximately 15 minutes (after the fire was reported),” Eddleblute said. “Between 30 and 45 minutes later, we had the fire under control. There was heavy debris, and it took a lot of water and foam to extinguish the fire after that (because of hot spots).”

Shane Cartmill, public information officer for the Ohio Fire Marshal’s Office, said the cause of the fire remains under investigation, but it does not appear to be suspicious.

“Right now we are still examining the debris at the scene, and we are talking to some of the witnesses,” he said, “specifically the bus driver that called in the fire and (Hall’s) son, who tried to gain access to the house through a number of different ways, so he might be able to give us a little bit more information.

“The bus driver who spotted the fire will also maybe be able to help us determine the origin of the fire,” he said.

Cartmill said Hall’s residence had smoke detectors, but it is not known if they were operating at the time of the fire.

Investigators are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the cause of Hall’s death.

The sheriff’s office reported Hall lived by herself. Members of her family declined to comment.