MONTICELLO, Miss. (AP) - Investigators say firewood stacked too close to a wood-burning stove caused the blaze that killed a Mississippi woman who ran back into her burning home to try to save her two dogs.
The state Fire Marshal’s Office says 72-year-old Mary Ann McMahon of Lawrence County was the fourth Mississippi resident to die so far in January from a heating related-fire.
McMahon’s daughter, Amy Rutland, was hospitalized after the Wednesday fire. Lawrence County Sheriff Lessie Butler says Rutland was staying with her mother after McMahon’s husband died Jan. 10. The funeral was Monday.
Officials are telling people to check smoke alarms and properly use heaters and extension cords.
On Tuesday, 66-year-old Shelton Hill of Flowood died after his home caught fire because a space heater was too close to a bed.
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