89-year-old woman dies after catching fire while smoking cigarette in Henrico County

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- An 89-year-old woman died after officials said she caught on fire while smoking a cigarette outside her apartment building in Henrico County on Wednesday.

At around noon on Wednesday, March 19, crews with the Henrico County Division of Fire were called to the 1600 block of Westbrook Avenue for the report of a structure fire at a commercial residence.

Within five minutes, Henrico Fire and EMS personnel arrived at the scene and saw no structure fire, however, they found an 89-year-old woman outside of the apartment building who was "alert and showed signs of extensive burn injuries."

According to officials, medics immediately began performing lifesaving care and the woman was quickly taken to a nearby hospital, where she later died due to her injuries.

The Fire Marshal's Office determined the incident to be accidental and said the woman caught on fire while smoking a cigarette.

"This was an unfortunate and tragic incident,” said Henrico Fire Marshal Scott Sutton. “Our hearts go out to the family and to the loved ones who have been impacted.”

According to officials, this is the first fire-related death reported in Henrico this year.