(File Photo of a Fire Background)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Lawrence County, PA) A fire that occurred in Lawrence County this morning has killed a woman and injured her son. Firefighters were called to New Castle to go to a home at 105 Good Avenue at around 6:12 a.m. Officials stated that a woman was in a bedroom there with a closed door and was not able to get out. Lawrence County Coroner Rich Johnson identified her as fifty-nine-year-old Gerri Black, whose death he ruled accidental. Black was pronounced dead on the scene because of both smoke inhalation and extreme heat. Johnson stated that Black was found dead in her bedroom after firefighters knocked the flames down. Michael Black, the son of the late Black who is in his twenties, was taken by an ambulance to a hospital, which was where he was treated for both smoke inhalation and burns to his feet and legs. According to Johnson, Michael Black had walked barefoot to a neighbor’s house to call for help. Johnson also confirmed two cats also died because of this fire and one more cat that survived it was taken to the Lawrence County Humane Society. Crews spent an hour to get the incident under control even though firefighters were on the scene for nearly five hours. The cause of this fire is unknown at this time and it is being investigated by Shenango fireman Morgan Hill.