A 71 year old Haltom City woman died Sunday night in a fire just a block from her neighborhood fire station. Barbara Harrison was found dead on the second floor of her apartment in the 4800 block of Waldemer Street.. Fire officials say the fire was reported at 11pm and the first fire truck arrived just 3 minutes later, but that the apartment was fully involved in flames when they got there. "Sometimes their best is not going to change the outcome of what's happened," said Haltom City Fire Marshal Fred Napp about the firefighters response.
Witness Justin Kish said a neighbor tried to rescue the woman before fire trucks were on the scene. "And when the window exploded, he backed up, and we were just standing there waiting for the fire department to come," Kish said. It was a troubling experience for the victim's neighbors. "I couldn't sleep the whole night, I was just thinking about it," said witness Ruben Anaya. "I've never seen anything like that before."
The victim's niece Mary Strickland visited the fire scene Monday afternoon, remembering her aunt and the Christmas they had just spent together. "She actually was one of those kind of people that didn't talk a lot. But when she did say something, it was usually pretty intelligent," Strickland said. "Just a very sweet woman."
The fire marshal believes the fire was accidental but said it will be difficult to pinpoint the cause because damage to the apartment was so severe. "Every now and then you run into a fire that makes you scratch your head and really puts your skills to work," Napp said. "And some fires will just be undetermined." This investigation is still underway.
