Albany woman dies in house fire

ALBANY — Sixty-seven-year-old Vera Snell of Albany died Saturday morning after her home at 203 Nona Drive caught fire due to the apparent use of multiple extension cords to share electricity with the residence next door, according to officials with the Albany Fire Department.

The Albany Fire Department responded to the alarm at 9:18 a.m. Saturday and arrived at the scene to find the fire fully “involved,” according to reports.

Informed by witnesses that someone was still inside the house, firefighters entered the residence and found Snell in the bedroom. Upon being removed from the home, Snell was transported to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital and was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

According to Albany Fire Chief James Carswell, when firefighters entered the residence they encountered several electrical extension cords running from the home to the residence next door at 205 Nona Drive. A short in one or more of those electrical cords was likely the cause of the fire, Carswell said.

“They totally circumvented the electrical system,” said Carswell. “When you do that you take the fuses and breakers out of the equation.”

Carswell added that it appeared that the two residences were sharing power through seven different extension cords that had multiple household devices connected to them.

“Unfortunately it’s a situation where they didn’t think of the consequences, they were trying to take care of a need,” said Carswell. “It’s tragic.”