Smoking near oxygen tank is suspected cause of deadly fire, South Carolina coroner says
A South Carolina woman died Tuesday night after being pulled from a fire in an apartment building, the Oconee County Coroner said.
Beckie Marie Smith, a 61 year-old Seneca resident, was the victim, Coroner Karl Addis said Wednesday in a news release.
At about 7 p.m., the Seneca Fire Department responded to a blaze in an Upstate apartment at 108 Field Village Drive, according to the release.
The fire was reported by neighbors at the complex, the coroner’s office said. A bystander entered the burning apartment to find Smith lying in her bed in the living room area and removed he from the apartment, according to the release.
Emergency responders found Smith was suffering cardiac arrest, the coroner’s office said. Smith was given medical treatment but died at the scene at 7:40 p.m., according to the release.
No other injuries were reported.
Smith’s cause of death was not released, but an autopsy will be performed Wednesday to assist with the investigation, Addis said.
The cause of the fire is being investigated by both the fire department and Seneca Police Department.
But Addis said the fire appears to be “a smoking-related incident in the presence of high concentration oxygen, resulting in a flash type fire.” Smith was oxygen dependent and used a home oxygen generator, according to the release.
