Bargersville firefighters work in the aftermath of a rural Bargersville fire that claimed a life on March 20. The victim was identified Monday as Helen Doyle, 87, of Morgantown.
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Officials released the name of the elderly woman who died in a rural Johnson County house fire last week.
The Johnson County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Helen Doyle, 87, of Morgantown, after doing DNA testing. Doyle lived at the home with two other family members who were not home at the time of the fire, according to a coroner’s office news release.
First responders were called on March 20 to the 1400 block of County Road 700 West. When they arrived, the home was fully engulfed. Family members at the scene said a female relative was trapped inside, according to a Bargersville Community Fire Department news release.
Heavy black smoke was visible from several miles away. It took about 13 minutes for crews to get to the house, which is six miles southwest of Bargersville, and another 15 minutes to get the fire under control. Once crews could enter the home safely, they found the victim was already dead, according to the news release.
The victim’s cause of death is still pending autopsy results. The cause of the fire is also still under investigation, the coroner’s news release says.
