Fire claims woman, 49
Royalton blaze kills widow
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At the scene of a fatal fire in South Royalton, Vermont State Police Detective William Jenkins, left, speaks with Vermont State Police Sgt. Jeremy Hill. Jennifer Hauck / Valley News photo |
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By MARK DAVIS Valley News Staff Writer - Published: October 17, 2009
ROYALTON — A 49-year-old woman died when her North Windsor Road trailer home was destroyed by fire, authorities said.
While police said they are awaiting the results of an autopsy to release her name, friends and neighbors identified the victim as Candice McGrath, a widow who recently received a new home thanks to community donations.
Investigators Friday had not identified the cause of the fire.
Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Todd Illingworth said there is no evidence suggesting it is suspicious. The autopsy, to be conducted by the Vermont Medical Examiner's office, is routine in fatal fires.
Firefighters arrived around 9:45 a.m. and found the trailer engulfed, with flames shooting out of the windows, Royalton Fire Chief David Whitney said. Firefighters brought the blaze under control in 20 minutes, Whitney said, and soon found the body.
McGrath lived alone with several cats presumed to have perished in the fire. Her husband, Steve, died of cancer two years ago, friends said, leaving McGrath alone in the trailer, on the bank of the White River a mile west of Vermont Law School.
The trailer home she shared for several years with her husband fell into disrepair. After her husband died, members of the United Church of South Royalton and others in the community were able to find a vacant trailer home, and arranged to have it moved to the tiny patch of land that she called home.
Despite the charitable efforts, McGrath could be cantankerous and spent most of her time alone, friends said, and often struggled in social situations.
"She really wanted to be liked by everybody," South Royalton resident Donna Howe said.
But in the past year, McGrath began to warm, and would offer "hello" and inquire about friends' children. And after proclaiming no interest in religion for years, she began attending church every Sunday, Proctor said.
"There was a hard outer crust, but there was a very kind and good heart in there," Proctor said. "And we began to see more of that in the last year or so."
McGrath was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Proctor said.
Whitney said authorities were unsure if the home had smoke detectors.
Nearly 30 firefighters from Royalton, Tunbridge and Bethel responded to the fire, Whitney said.
The fire stressed area emergency workers who were dealing almost simultaneously with a fatal construction accident in neighboring Sharon, where 34-year-old Theodore Kendall was killed building a home on White Brook Road.
Whitney was en route to Sharon Elementary School to create a landing zone for the DHART helicopter that took Kendall to the hospital. As Whitney pulled into the school, his radio sounded with the call for the fire.
"They said, 'We're all set with the landing zone' and I could respond to our fire," Whitney said. "An awful day."
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