Woman Dies Four Days After Enfield House Fire, Chief Says

Feb. 07--A 72-year-old woman has died after being burned in a fire at her Enfield house on Friday, a fire official said.

The woman died at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday at Bridgeport Hospital's burn unit, said Edward Richards, chief of Enfield Fire District No. 1. In addition to burns and other injuries from the fire, she suffered from complications from unrelated conditions, he said.

The woman and her 66-year-old sister were in their Cape-Cod-style home at 255 Pearl St., at the intersection with Riverdale Road on the west side of town, when the fire started about 3:30 p.m. Friday. Both were able to get out before firefighters arrived, said Richards, who saw one of the sisters being helped up Riverdale Road by a staff member of the nearby St. Bernard Catholic School.

The 72-year-old was taken to Bay State Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., then transferred to Bridgeport. Richards said he would not release her name because he wasn't sure if her family members -- who are traveling to Connecticut from a foreign country -- have been notified of her death.

The smoky fire took about 20 minutes to get under control, the chief said. An investigation showed that it started in the home's den, where the 72-year-old had been.

Investigators believe they know how the fire started, but Richards would not release the cause, saying he didn't want to influence the insurance company's investigation.

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