Fast-moving house fire kills a woman in Mason County on Thursday

A fast-moving house fire claimed the life of a woman and injured her husband on Thursday afternoon in Mason County.

Central Mason Fire & EMS reported that crews were dispatched to the scene at about 2:50 p.m. Thursday at 31 E. Boston Place in the Timberlakes development, north of Hammersley Inlet and East Agate Road.

Units were advised of heavy fire conditions at the single-family house. When they arrived, they found 59-year-old Claudia Smith dead near a window. Her husband, 61-year-old Scott Smith, was taken to Mason General Hospital in Shelton with severe smoke inhalation.

Fire Chief Mike Patti said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, although they believe it was caused accidentally.

This story was originally published August 12, 2022 at 7:43 AM.

Ty Vinson

The Olympian

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Ty Vinson covers the City of Olympia and keeps tabs on Tumwater and other communities in Thurston County. He joined The Olympian in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian and the Arizona Republic as a Pulliam Fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription