Woman seriously burned in morning fire

Fire broke out in Smyth County, Va. early Thursday

By Preston Ayres, payres@wcyb.com

POSTED: 7:23 AM Dec 06 2012   UPDATED: 2:44 PM Dec 06 2012

Fire ripped through the home on Tipton Lane in Smyth County, Virginia early Thursday morning.

The call came in just before 6 a.m. Crews quickly learned a person was trapped inside the burning home.

They found the victim was in the bathtub.

Officials say she received third degree burns to more than 80 percent of her body and is in described as very serious condition.

"She was flown to Wake Forest by Wings Air Rescue," says Chief Steve Widner of the Adwolfe Volunteer Fire Department.

Family members at the scene identify the victim as Geneva Pierce. They last saw her Wednesday evening.

"It was pretty substantial amount of damage to the residence, it's a total loss,” says Widner. “[There was] heat damage to the house, most of the fire was contained to the bedroom."

Firefighters knocked down the flames quickly.

The Smyth County Sheriff's Department and the Virginia State Police were called into investigate the cause of the fire. "We don't have any reason to believe it is suspicious, but because a person was inside we will work it to make sure," says Captain Chip Shuler of the Smyth County Sheriff’s Department.

Pierce was the only person at home at the time of the fire. By chance, her five-year-old daughter was spending the night at her grandparents' house next door.