A 59-year-old Marion County woman died Sunday morning in a trailer fire at her home at 138 Lampton Hilltop Road.
Bernadine Irvin, a nursing home aide, perished in the blaze that happened at about 9:15 a.m. Sunday.
Fire Chief Anthony Dillon of the South Marion Volunteer Fire Department said Irvin’s son reported his mother came out of the trailer and then went back in to get her purse. Dillon said the smoke must have overwhelmed her. He said they found her body about 10 feet from the back door.
Irvin ran booths at flea markets and had a lot of items inside the trailer, which made it difficult to fight the fire, Dillon said. The fire chief said it appeared the blaze may have started from a fireplace.
Marion County Fire Investigator Aaron Greer and the State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating.
Greer said they had received a call of a structure fire with occupants inside and that the trailer was fully involved when firefighters arrived. Others inside were not hurt as far as he knows, he said. He said the victims had family members on the scene and the Red Cross was called.
Responding volunteer fire departments included South Marion, Pine Burr, Foxworth, Tri-Community and Southwest. The dispatch time was 9:13 a.m., and the scene was cleared at 1:56 p.m.
Pictured Above: The trailer at 138 Lampton Hilltop Road is seen Monday after a fire Sunday that claimed the life of resident Bernadine Irvin, a 59-year-old nursing home aide. | Photo by Charlie Smith
