Elderly woman presumed dead in blaze

BIRNAMWOOD — An elderly woman is believed to have died in a fire at her home Tuesday night, authorities said.

A passing motorist and a neighbor tried to enter the home, but were kept out by intense smoke and heat.

“Our feeling is, based on all the information that we could obtain, she is in the house,” said Randy Giese, an investigator with the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department. “I’d love to be wrong.”

The county coroner was called to the scene shortly after midnight.

The owner of the home is Elaine Patterson, who is in late 70s or early 80s, said her niece, Patricia Rood of Eland.

Patterson was wheelchair bound, said Rood, who was not holding out hope she was still alive.

The fire destroyed much of the two-story home northeast of Birnamwood. Only a frame and part of the upper floor could be seen through thick smoke that continued to pour from the structure more than two hours after the sheriff’s office was called.

The fire was spotted by Brian Wakefield of Birnamwood, who said he saw a garage door engulfed in flames.

“I busted open an access door, but I couldn’t get in,” Wakefield said. “The smoke was too thick.”

Wakefield called his brother-in-law, Ray Korbish, who lives just down the road from Patterson, and they both tried get inside.

“He and I tried to get inside a side door, then we busted out a window, and out poured heavy smoke. Nobody was going to get into that house.”

Wakefield called the sheriff’s department shortly after 6:30 p.m. Birnamwood Fire Department chief Randy Berger said that when firefighters arrived, the home was fully engulfed in flames.

After the blaze was extinguished, firefighters had to wait for until nearly 9 p.m. to begin searching for Patterson.

“Stuff was all caved in, and we wanted to make sure it was safe before we went in,” Berger said. “Everything fell on top of everything else when it caved in.”

Members of the Mattoon Fire Department provided mutual aid. Berger said about 20 firefighters were on the scene.

Giese said a state fire marshal from Appleton was called and was on his way to the home Tuesday night. He said it was too early to say what might have caused the fire.

“We’re still gathering information, but nothing points to the fact it’s incendiary in nature,” Giese said.

Rood said her aunt had lived in the home for several years after moving from Milwaukee. She and her late husband have a daughter in Texas, Rood said.

Elderly woman presumed dead in blaze

BIRNAMWOOD — An elderly woman is believed to have died in a fire at her home Tuesday night, authorities said.

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