VAN BUREN (KFSM) - An elderly woman died Wednesday (Feb. 18) from severe burns after a fire at her Van Buren home Tuesday morning (Feb. 17), according to family members.
The fire started in one of the bedrooms just after 2 a.m., according to fire crews on scene. A man and his mother were both asleep inside at the time. The woman identified as Polly Ashing and her son Michael Ashing. They woke up to smoke and were able to make it out of the home; however, the woman suffered second and third-degree burns on her face, chest and arms.
The son ran next door and woke up the man he rents the home from, Tom Wellnitz.
"He started banging on my door, saying the house was on fire," Wellnitz said. "When I looked out, the flames were going 50 feet in the air."
Crews with Van Buren Fire arrived on scene minutes later.
"There just wasn't much we could do with the structure fully involved like that," Marvin Stout, with Van Buren Fire said. "When the roof is caving in, you just kind of have to stand back and let it happen. We make sure no exteriors are in danger, that sort of thing."
There were four dogs also inside the home when it caught fire. Only one of them made it out.
Polly Ashing was transported to Mercy Hospital in Little Rock where she succumbed to her injuries, according to her family.
The house is a complete loss, according to crews on scene.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
