Woman dies following fire

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MARSEILLES – An autopsy is scheduled later today on the death of a woman in a house fire Saturday.

Mary Grandadam, 66, of 902 Bratton Ave., Marseilles, was pronounced dead by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office at 1:40 p.m. Tuesday.

Grandadam was transferred to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood from Ottawa Regional Hospital and Healthcare Center where she was admitted following the blaze in her home.

Marseilles Fire Chief Mick Garrison said firefighters removed Grandadam - who used a wheelchair for transportation - from the burning house at about 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

Neighbors informed firefighters upon their arrival of the woman’s whereabouts in the single family dwelling.

“They entered the burning home and got her out within 5 to 8 minutes,” he said today. “The ambulance was there, waiting.”

He said Grandadam was not breathing on her own after her rescue, and first responders immediately began  resuscitation measures.

Garrison said the State Fire Marshal’s office and canine unit were brought into the incident to check for accelerants, but found none.

“The fire is not suspicious in nature,” said Garrison. “It was careless use of smoking materials.”

The blaze caused significant damage to the living room area, along with smoke damage throughout the rest of the house, the fire chief said.

Garrison estimated damage to the house at about $80,000.

He said the house is fixable.

The incident is the first fatal blaze in Marseilles in about a decade.

Garrison said the previous fatality took place in a second floor apartment on Woodruff Street.

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