Lorain apartment fire kills woman Wednesday, displaces 10 families

An apartment fire in Lorain is under investigation after it killed one resident and displaced 10 others early Wednesday. Sherri Richardson, 53, died in the fire, Lorain County Coroner Dr. Frank Miller said Thursday. Lorain Assistant Fire Chief Shawn Lloyd said that the fire occurred in Richardson's mid-story apartment in the Pinebrook Towers apartment complex on Shaffer Drive. Lloyd said the Lorain Fire Department received a call at 12:04 a.m. Wednesday and crews arrived to discover flames pouring out of the sliding glass door on the porch of the apartment. Fire crews entered the apartment building and found the door to Richardson's apartment open, with smoke spilling out into the communal stairwell. Lloyd said a Lorain police officer kicked the door open and called for anyone inside, but there was no response. Police evacuated the building as the responding fire crew got to work extinguishing the fire in the living room, which Lloyd said was put out quickly. "The crew that made the initial first attack, as they were coming back down the hallway — they searched the back bedrooms first — they noticed the victim in the living room," Lloyd said. LifeCare Ambulance paramedics were called into the apartment and determined that Richardson was dead. Crews had to evacuate four additional residents who had either been asleep or trapped by the blaze, including the resident of the apartment above Richardson's who had to be removed by ladder. Lloyd said that no other injuries were reported. The state fire marshal was called in to assist with the investigation because of the fatality. Lloyd said the investigation is still ongoing, but as of Thursday it looked as though the fire started in Richardson's apartment; the cause was undetermined. Richardson's apartment was heavily damaged, but the other 11 units on her side of the building also were left unlivable, Lloyd said. Heavy smoke damage and some limited flame damage to the stairwell forced the displacement of the families in the 10 occupied apartments in the building. One apartment was unoccupied. Lloyd said it will likely be at least several weeks before residents can return, so the Red Cross has been notified to find them temporary housing. "The crews did a great job, they got a quick knockdown," Lloyd said. "Even though there was a lack of working smoke detectors, nobody besides the deceased was injured or needed medical attention." Richardson's apartment had a smoke detector, but Lloyd said it was found on the kitchen table, surrounded by an outline of soot. "You could tell it hadn't been up," Lloyd said. "When we left there was a perfect circle there, from where it was sitting before the fire started." He urged residents to double check that their smoke detectors are installed and have working batteries. "Check your smoke detectors once a month and change the batteries like you change your clocks, (in the) springtime and the fall." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.