KCSO identifies victim in fatal house fire

KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) - Knox County Sheriff’s Office officials identified the victim of a fatal Knox County fire Tuesday.

Crews with Rural Metro Fire responded the house fire in the 4100 block of East Governor John Sevier Highway Wednesday night, according to an announcement from the agency.

The fire happened around 10:30 p.m. and involved two victims: later identified as Rebecca Kirby, 76 and Ronald Kirby, 72.

“The nearby Battalion Chief arrived on the scene within 3 minutes and found a home heavily involved with fire and a [man] in the front yard,” officials with Rural Metro said.

Rebecca Kirby was trapped inside the building, officials said, and had to be rescued through a window. Both victims were reportedly treated on the scene by EMS then taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center with possibly fatal injuries.

In a later update, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Rebecca Kirby had died in the fire. Ronald Kirby has since been released from Vanderbilt Medical Center, where he was taken after treatment at UTMC, KCSO said.

At this time, the investigation into the fire is complete, KCSO officials said. No foul play is suspected.

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