A 78-year-old Bloomington woman died Tuesday night when a fire engulfed her mobile home on N. Willis Drive.
The cause of the fire and the woman’s death remain under investigation by the Bloomington Fire Department and Bloomington Police Department. An autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday in Terre Haute, Indiana, BPD Sgt. Joe Crider said.
Officials do not expect any foul play was involved in the fire, said Sgt. Brandon Hudson, BPD public information officer. The woman was found dead when fire crews reached her, Hudson said, and authorities believe her cause of death was related to the fire.
On Wednesday, fire officials continued to survey the mobile home.
Fire crews initially received a report about the fire at 8:35 p.m. Tuesday, and the first truck arrived at the home five minutes later. Neighbors initially told fire officials two people lived in the residence but later remembered the woman’s husband had passed away a few months prior and she lived alone.
When the fire trucks arrived, flames were visible on both the left and right sides of the home, and more than half the house was on fire, Hudson said.
The crews began to spray down the house, and one team attempted to enter from the left front door while additional crews entered through the back right door.
A team of firefighters in the front left door pushed into the home, but heavy fire conditions forced them to back out and control the fire before entering, Hudson said. Once they were able to get back inside, they found the deceased woman.
Hudson could not describe the exact part of the house where the crews found her but said the area still had a significant amount of flames when the team pushed into the house.
BPD and the Monroe County Coroner were notified, and fire investigators also came to the house. The last fire truck left the home at about 12:30 a.m., Hudson said.
Because of the nature of mobile homes, which contain a lot of metal, the woman’s home heated up quickly and was falling apart while crews searched it, Hudson said. Firefighters were even falling through the floor due to the heavy fire and damage.
“The support structures are not real strong,” Hudson said. “A mobile home will deteriorate very quickly.”
