A 70-year-old Paulding County woman died in a house fire Friday morning, according to authorities.
Paulding County Fire-Rescue Department officials continue to investigate the blaze, which began shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Hale Haven Drive, which is northwest of Douglasville.
A kitchen fire broke out at the home, prompting the woman’s 18-year-old grandson to call 911. He told dispatchers a family member was trapped inside the burning home. She was rescued, but later died at a hospital.
“It appears the fire started on the stove while cooking and rapidly spread throughout the home,” according to a news release.
The Paulding County coroner identified the woman as Jean Skoglund. The GBI will be performing an autopsy.
Channel 2 Action News reported that Skoglund’s family said she was a 17-year military veteran who served in both the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army. Angela Perez, Skoglund’s daughter, told the news station that Skoglund sacrificed her life to help her grandson escape the blaze.
“If it hadn’t been for her, he would’ve been in there, too,” Perez said. “We’re just asking for prayers for peace right now and really anything is useful. Anything is helpful. Even if it’s prayers.”
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Fire officials said Skoglund was trapped on the second floor for several minutes as the blaze raged through the home. A Paulding County deputy reported heavy smoke and flames coming from the home when he arrived, according to the release.
According to Perez, Skoglund and the 18-year-old grandson were both trapped on the second floor, but she helped him escape his room, Channel 2 reported. They somehow got separated during the mad dash and Skoglund never made it out alive, her daughter said.
Crews tried to save the woman, entering the house through a second-story window at the rear of the structure. Firefighters found Skoglund passed out in a hallway filled with “heavy heat and smoky conditions,” fire department spokesperson Lt. Steve Mapes said.
Crews pulled the woman out of the home, then performed CPR and other life-saving measures in the front yard. Paramedics took the woman to Tanner Medical Center in Villa Rica, where she died, Mapes confirmed.
