Rockbridge Woman Dies Following House Fire

A Rockbridge  County woman died following a fire at her house Friday afternoon.

According to Kevin Moore, Rockbridge County Fire Rescue deputy chief, first responders were called to the 500 block of Old Buena Vista Road, across from The Ponds subdivision, for a house fire with an elderly woman inside about 2:24 p.m. The call had come from a neighbor.

While the fire inside the single-story dwelling was not extensive, there was a lot of smoke and heat when firefighters arrived. Knowing that the woman was inside the house, first responders searched for and located her. She was in cardiac arrest and first responders tried to resuscitate her before transporting her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The woman was identified as Katherine "Peggy" Ford.

The fire, Moore said, was limited to a portion of the interior of the house with the exterior of the house unaffected, but there was smoke and heat damage throughout the house.

He called the fire more of a smoldering one, due to the large amount of material inside the house. Firefighters spent several hours “overhauling” the scene, tackling hot spots within the various materials.

Responding to the fire were Lexington Fire and Rescue, Kerrs Creek Fire, Buena Vista Fire, Buena Vista Rescue Squad, Rockbridge County Fire and Rescue and the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office.

Virginia State Police investigators were called in and remained on the scene well into the evening Friday and returned Monday. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.