Woman killed in Bridgeport fire

STAFF REPORTS
Article Last Updated: 06/21/2008 12:00:54 AM EDT

BRIDGEPORT — The woman who died in an early Friday morning fire in her Saunders Avenue home was desperately reaching for her keys to open the locked door when she died, fire officials said.

Charlotte Keoshgerian, 62, was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Vincent's Medical Center following the 5:30 a.m. fire.

"The rescue squad worked very hard on her at the scene, but they had no luck," Assistant Fire Chief John Currivan said. "There was really nothing they could do."

The woman died from smoke asphyxiation, according a medical report.

Keoshgerian was found lying unconscious on the kitchen floor of her home at 389 Saunders Ave. Near her body was a set of keys to the locks on the inside of her front door and windows.

Currivan said there were no smoke detectors in the small, cinder-block ranch.

"There is no question smoke detectors would have alerted her in time and probably given her enough time to get out safely," he said.

The fire broke out in the main bedroom area of the home.

Currivan said it appears the cause of the fire was accidental, but it remains under investigation.

When firefighters arrived at the home, flames were shooting out the windows.

Fire crews found heavy smoke billowing from the wood-frame structure and had to force their way into the dwelling, according to fire Capt. Luis Rivera, the department spokesman.

The woman was apparently the only person in the home, he said.

The fire was brought under control in about 15 minutes.

A man at the home Friday evening, who said he was Keoshgerian's brother, declined to comment except to say the woman is also survived by a sister.

The smell of smoke lingered in the air near the ivy-covered dwelling.

Neighbor Barbara Pulliam said she woke up before the fire broke out and didn't smell any smoke. She only learned later that there had been a fire fatality nearby.

She said Keoshgerian kept to herself.

"When you did see her, she had a nice way," Pulliam said.

Pulliam added she's lived in her home for 10 years, and that Keoshgerian had lived in the neighborhood longer than that.

"I wish I could have done something" to help her, Pulliam said.