One person died after a Tabor City structure fire that may have been caused by smoking materials Wednesday.
Tabor City Fire Chief Jeff Fowler said the female victim was bedridden and on oxygen. The fire may have been caused by a cigarette in the vicinity of the woman’s oxygen.
Firefighters were called to 102 Shea Street just after 8 p.m., Fowler said. The woman’s companion had walked to the grocery store, and when he returned he smelled smoke, Fowler said.
“When he unlocked the door the entire area around her hospital bed was in flames,” Fowler said.
The man tried to enter the home, but the fire was too intense. Fowler said firefighters were on the scene in minutes, but faced the same challenge.
Tabor City Fire was assisted by equipment and personnel from Roseland, Williams, Fair Bluff and Nakina. Tabor City EMS and Tabor City Police also responded.
