CLEVELAND — Cleveland fire officials have confirmed that an elderly woman is dead after a fire on the city's east side.
The fire happened in the 900 block of Paxton Road in Cleveland's Forest Hills neighborhood.
According to Cleveland Division of Fire Assistant Public Information Officer John Kearns, crews were called to the scene at around 5:10 p.m. on Tuesday.
When firefighters arrived, they found the woman's body inside a first floor bedroom in the back of the house, while an elderly man was able to escape. Kearns told 3News that the man was taken by EMS to MetroHealth Medical Center.
The sister of the woman who died called Denesha Moses, who came right away to provide comfort. Moses confirmed to WKYC that the victim is survived by multiple family members.
"I'm just praying for their family," Moses said. "Healing, counseling is going to be a lot — the husband, the siblings, the family just having to go through that, so just praying that they get through this."
Cleveland Division of Fire officials told 3News on Wednesday that the cause has been determined to be "careless smoking." Damage has been estimated at $50,000.
On Thursday, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as 61-year-old Sharon Winfrey.
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