A house fire that took place on Wednesday, March 25, claimed the life of one elderly woman. According to the details shared by the DeWitt County Coroner’s Office, the victim has been identified as Patricia Mae Smith, 73.

Smith lived at a rural house located between Farmer City and Clinton. At about 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, a fire was reported at a house located northwest of the Clinton Lake. Several fire departments close to the location of the fire responded and reached the site at Cumberland Road.

However, by the time firefighters arrived on the site, most of the house was already engulfed in flames that were rising above the trees. There was no way into the structure, so the Farmer City firefighters tried to extinguish the flames from outside by surrounding the fire. Farmer City firefighters were assisted by the fire departments from Clinton, Weldon and LeRoy.

Despite their best efforts, the firefighters took around two hours to put out the blaze. They didn’t know whether or not anyone was inside the building. It was only once the fire was extinguished that the firefighters were able to locate and recover the body of Smith who had died in the incident.

The house itself was very nearly consumed by the fire and destroyed. Residents along the southwest side of the town were also notified by the authorities about possible discoloration in their water supply as the fire departments had filled a tanker from the supply. The incident continues to be investigated by the DeWitt County Sheriff’s Office, the County Coroner’s Office and the State Fire Marshal.

Disclaimer: The Accident News article you just read includes information obtained from numerous sources. These sources include, but are not limited to, websites and press releases from law enforcement, the county coroner, fire departments, and other news outlets. While we strive to provide readers with the most accurate information, sometimes the information received is not entirely accurate. For complete details, please refer to an official police report.

The articles published contain sensitive subject matter that may be hard to read by some. We understand that losing a loved one is hard and devastating. Accident News’s decision to share the stories is to help others who may be facing the same situations by providing appropriate resources to the general public.

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