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Investigators seek cause of fatal fire

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By Richard Wilson, Staff Writer 2:52 PM Friday, January 27, 2012

MIAMI TWP. – Fire investigators continue to investigate a blaze inside an apartment unit that killed a 64-year-old mother of three Thursday night.

Shortly before 11 p.m., Miami Twp. firefighters responded to Hamilton Village Apartments, 7157 Springboro Pike. and found flames and heavy smoke inside one south-facing apartment unit. The single occupant, Constance Dorsey, was found lying unresponsive on the floor of her kitchen.

Shane Cartmill, spokesman for the State Fire Marshal, said the cause of the fire is under investigation. The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office is conducting an autopsy to determine the victim’s cause of death. On Friday, there were no signs of the fire, except the apartment’s door and single window were boarded up.

Dorsey lived with her beloved chihuahua, Levi, but the dog hasn’t been accounted for, according to neighbors and Miami Twp. Fire Chief Matthew Queen.

“We were able to confirm she did have a dog, but he is unaccounted for at this time,” Queen said Friday afternoon.

Queen said the fire originated in the room where the victim was sleeping, and that fire damage was limited to that room. He said first responders encountered heavy smoke when they entered the apartment. He said Dorsey was not alive when firefighters found her.

Dorsey, who was a mother to three and a grandmother, had returned home two weeks ago after visiting with her daughter in South Carolina, said Carolyn Christman, a neighbor and friend who was awakened around 10:45 p.m. by a neighbor who smelled smoke. She said Dorsey had stayed for several weeks with her daughter as she grieved the loss of her husband Hubert, who died of cancer in July 2011.

“She loved (visiting with her daughter and grandchildren), but she was glad to be home,” Christman said. “She loved Levi, her little dog.”

Authorities said the fire was contained to one unit and adjacent apartments were not damaged. Christman said there is just a faint smell of smoke in her linen closet.

Fire investigators returned to the apartment early Friday morning to continue their examination of the fire scene and conduct additional interviews with witnesses and family. The investigation is being conducted by the Division of State Fire Marshal, the Miami Township Police Department, the Miami Township Fire Department and the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.

An electrical engineer is assisting investigators in determining how the fire started, Queen said, adding that he expects more information to be released in a few days.

This was the ninth fire-related fatality reported in the state so far this year, seven fewer than this time last year, according to Cartmill.

Contact this reporter at (513) 225-6985 or Richard.Wilson@coxinc.com.

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