KOKOMO, Ind. — A 60-year-old woman is dead after a house fire on the southeast side of Kokomo Tuesday night.
According to our newsgathering partners at the Kokomo Tribune, officers with the Kokomo Police Department were initially called around 9 p.m. to the 4100 block of South 50 East on a burglary alarm. When officers arrived, they alerted firefighters that the home was burning.
Firefighters tried to search the home, but they could not do a thorough search because of a roof collapse.
Several volunteer fire departments were called in because the home was a distance from the road, there was a lack of hydrants in the area and strong winds slowed firefighters down in extinguishing it at first.
During a search of the property on Wednesday, a body was discovered. The Howard County coroner identified the deceased as 60-year-old Judith Lynne Gaskin-Payne and said she died from thermal and inhalation injuries as a result of the fire.
Investigators said the fire is still under investigation, and a cause has not been determined.
Anyone with information about this incident can call the Kokomo Fire Department at 765-457-2636 or the Howard County Coroner’s Office at 765-456-1186.
