SAN ANTONIO – A woman found dead following a North Side house fire has been identified by the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Claudine Esther Martinez, 66, died early Tuesday.
San Antonio Firefighters responded to the home, located in the 100 block of Rilla Vista, around 4 a.m. and found flames and smoke coming from a back room.
Fire crews entered the home and found Martinez dead, not far from the front door, Woody Woodward, a public information officer with the San Antonio Fire Department said.
He said they also found two pets, a dog and cat, dead inside the home. A third pet, another dog, escaped the fire.
Woodward said firefighters believe a dangerous situation involving an extension cord is what started the fire.
He said the extension cord had been run underneath a bed and was plugged into a portable air conditioning unit.
The SAFD believes Martinez was aware of the fire and may have been trying to escape. She was the only person inside.
Fire officials said the home had no working smoke detectors. In fact, according to Woodward, firefighters did not find any smoke detectors at all.