Elderly couple taken to hospitals following afternoon fire
An elderly man and woman were trapped in their Cokeburg home when a fire ignited in their basement on Christmas.
Both the man and woman were taken to hospitals. The woman was not breathing when firefighters rescued her from the Prospect Street house just after 3 p.m. Monday, said Cokeburg fire Chief Travis Lohr. He said he did not know if she was resuscitated. The man was taken to a hospital by medical helicopter with burns. He escaped before firefighters arrived.
“We did what we could with what we showed up to,” he said.
He said the house was filled with thick, black smoke when firefighters entered the house to rescue the woman.
“When we got on the scene, there were flames shooting about 15 feet out of the chimney,” he said.
Lohr said a fire marshal will determine the cause of the blaze Tuesday. Officials believe it started in the basement.