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FIRE KILLS WOMAN, 89 -
DAUGHTER, 68, 'CRITICAL' AFTER EARLY MORNING BLAZE
Bergen Record
By CHARLES YOUNG, Record Staff Writer
Date: 04-06-1993, Tuesday
An 89-year-old Westwood woman was killed and her 68-year-old
daughter critically injured when fire ripped through their Lewis
Place home Monday.
Carrie Williams of 33 Lewis Place was found dead at the scene of the
blaze, which was reported at 4:19 a.m.
Her daughter, Allison Williams, was in critical condition in the
burn unit of St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. She suffered
burns to her lungs and smoke inhalation.
The Williamses lived on the first floor of the three-family home.
The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said two people living in an
upstairs apartment and a third living in a downstairs apartment
escaped the fire without injury.
Officials from the prosecutor's arson squad -- which investigates
all fatal fires -- have determined the blaze started in Carrie
Williams' bedroom, but the fire is still under investigation to
determine its exact cause.
Investigators said there were smoke alarms in the house, but they
are still determining whether the alarms were working at the time of
the fire.
Family members gathered at the home Monday morning in an effort to
find out what happened.
"Other than the fact there was a fire and my aunt lost her life, I
don't know much," said Constance Oliver of Paterson, who said she
was a niece of Carrie Williams'.
"I'm just as shocked as anybody else," said another niece, who did
not want to give her name. She said her aunt lived in the home for
at least 40 years and did not tolerate cigarette smoking. "Ever
since we were children, we could never smoke in front of her," she
said.
A neighbor who did not want her name published said she was awakened
by the blaze. "I just woke up and saw the flames. It was sometime
after 4 a.m.," she said.
Fire officials said about 60 firefighters from Westwood and Emerson
fought the blaze. "It was really going" when firefighters arrived,
said Chief John Woods.
Allison Williams initially was taken to Pascack Valley Hospital in
Westwood. Later in the morning, she was transported by ambulance to
St. Barnabas.
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