HIGHGATE — A 89-year-old woman died in a fire in Highgate on Sunday.
Authorities were notified of a reported structure fire with at least one person trapped inside the building on St Armand Road at around 9:00 p.m.
Police say when firefighters arrived, they located one of the residents, identified as Keith Ploof, 64, of Highgate, in the driveway and were told that his mother, identified as Sylvia Ploof, was still inside the home.
Firefighters made entry into the building and located and extricated her from the home.
Police say Sylvia was transported to the Northwest Medical Center in St. Albans where she died from injuries sustained in the fire.
Keith was transported to the hospital for smoke inhalation related injuries.
Investigators determined that the fire began in the living room of the residence.
The cause of the fire was determined to be an overloaded power strip that failed and ignited the surrounding combustible materials.
There were no working smoke detectors in the residence at the time of the fire, investigators say.
Police say the residence sustained extensive heat and smoke damage throughout the first floor.
