Concord woman dies from injuries in Monday apartment fire
CONCORD — A woman seriously injured in an apartment fire earlier this week has died, authorities said.
Elise English, 34, of Concord, was taken off life support Wednesday morning after spending the past two days in the hospital, said Contra Costa Fire Marshal Lewis Broschard III.
English was found unconscious and not breathing in her unit at the Clayton Creek Apartments on Clayton Road on Monday after firefighters got a 1:38 p.m. call to an intense two-alarm fire. Firefighters performed CPR and she was taken to the hospital.
Firefighters extinguished the fire, which consumed English’s apartment and the roof, within about half an hour. No one else — including English’s roommate — was injured, and the fire damaged a half-dozen neighboring units.
It was the second fire to occur at the apartment complex that month: On Jan. 6, a one-alarm fire sent a resident to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
Based on the limited information provided by news reports it is unclear what started the fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Fires and explosions are sudden and devastating, destroying homes and buildings, and causing physical injuries and death. Burn injuries are painful and disfiguring, and require long recovery periods. Smoke inhalation, and inhalation of toxic fumes and gases from flammable fabrics and furniture stuffed with polyurethane foam, cause added injury and increase the likelihood of death.
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