Early morning fire leads to area woman’s death, authorities say

PORT NECHES — A Port Neches woman has died following a house fire Thursday.

The woman is described as being in her late 60s.

The fire was reported at approximately 3:20 a.m. Thursday for a home in the 700 block of Grigsby Avenue in Port Neches.

Port Neches Fire Department personnel responded with mutual aid from Groves and Nederland fire departments.

Crews reported heavy smoke coming from the home on arrival. As they approached, first responders noticed an elderly female on the front porch in the presence of a male, Port Neches Fire Chief Eloy Vega said.

Firefighters immediately started treating the patient there and moved her to an ambulance for further treatment, he said.

She was promptly taken to a nearby hospital, where she later died.

After the fire was extinguished, firefighters learned four people lived in the home; the elderly female, her adult son, his wife and a child approximately 5 years old.

Preliminary investigation indicated the son pulled his mother from the home and in doing so burned his hand. He refused transport to the hospital and was treated at the scene.

The man’s wife and child were not injured.

The home had working smoke alarms, which woke the family and prompted their escape, Vega said.

The blaze, though tragic, shows the importance of working smoke alarms, he said, adding this could have been much worse.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Vega said an investigator from the Port Neches Fire Department is working the scene and has assistance from the Groves Fire Department.

At approximately 8:15 a.m. Thursday, fire crews from Port Neches and Groves were seen at the home, as well as a crew from Entergy.

Vega said it is typical to see Entergy at a scene after a structure or building fire, where they remove the electric meter and cut the power to prevent further damages.

The family was referred to the American Red Cross following the fire.

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