Woman dies from injuries in house fire
Jul. 7—A north Cumberland County woman succumbed to injuries suffered in a house fire last week despite the teamwork and heroic efforts to save her life, investigators confirmed Wednesday.
Cumberland County Sheriff's Investigator Tom Howard said he was notified Saturday that Edna Terry, 58, died at Vanderbilt Medical Center where she was flown after being treated at Cumberland Medical Center.
"I believe from listening to her E-911 call to dispatch, along with evidence we found at the scene, she got out of the house but went back inside to retrieve her dogs," Howard said Wednesday.
"One of the dogs got out and was found by neighbors. The other dog was found dead lying beside her in the bedroom."
Assistant Fire Chief John Hall said county firefighters responded to a report of a structure fire on Creekside Lane, located just off Clear Creek Rd. at 10:45 p.m. June 28.
The scene is near the old hunting lodge and not far from the Fentress and Putnam county lines.
E-911 dispatcher Austin Rose told firefighters while en route that the woman was advised to exit the residence but that the dispatch center had lost contact with the caller and had reason to believe she had re-entered the burning home.
It was reported that Rose was talking with Terry and heard her coughing and breathing hard prior to losing contact with her.
Dispatchers sent an ambulance to the scene as a precaution.
When the first firefighters arrived, they found the interior of the mobile home fully enveloped in flames and could not locate the caller. Her cellphone was found lying on the back porch near an open door.
Firefighters Brandon King and James Threet were in the first unit arriving on the scene. Upon sizing up what they were seeing, they attacked the blaze, spraying the room with water enough to "knock down the flames" make entry to search for the victim.
Their fears were confirmed when they found Terry lying on the bedroom floor with no pulse. She was carried to the back porch where the firefighters prepared to being lifesaving measures. Cumberland County Emergency Medical Services arrived in the ambulance and took over CPR and detected a faint pulse.
Terry was rushed to CMC's emergency room where lifesaving measures continued throughout the night. It was reported the victim was responding but had suffered extensive smoke inhalation.
Last Wednesday Terry was flown to the Nashville trauma center where her condition suddenly worsened and she died Friday night.
Volunteer firefighters from the Genesis, Mayland and Rinnie stations responded to the fire along with units from the Community Complex station.
Investigators believe the fire started in the kitchen in the area of the stove and was accidental.
Terry had reportedly lived in the rental home for around seven or eight years.
Michael Moser may be reached at mmoser@crossville-chronicle.com
