Two people were found dead inside a house that burned late Saturday night at 144 N. McPherson Ave., a Hopkinsville Fire Department spokesman said.
They were Martha Anne Harris, 87, and her great-grandson, Alvin Davidson, who as 10, said Christian County Coroner Scott Daniel.
“There were the only two there at the time of the fire,” Daniel told Hoptown Chronicle.
The cause of death appeared for both to be smoke inhalation, he said. Autopsies will be performed to confirm that.
Firefighters were dispatched to the house at 10:39 p.m., according to Capt. Michael Pendleton.
“Three HFD stations responded to the scene where heavy fire and smoke was showing from the home,” Pendleton said. “During firefighting operations, two victims were discovered inside the home.”
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Pendleton said the State Fire Marshal’s office was called to the scene.
Harris and her great-grandson were found together in a bedroom at the back of the house, said Daniel.
The fire occurred in a neighborhood of older homes off West Seventh Street about a quarter mile behind Second Baptist Church.
(This story has been updated to include information about the victims.)
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
