Dougherty Coroner: Smoke inhalation unlikely death cause in fatal Dawson Road fire
Woman found dead after fire believed to have died from natural causes
By Jennifer Parks
ALBANY — A woman initially believed to have died of smoke inhalation in a fire on Dawson Road Monday evening may have died from natural causes before the blaze started.
A shift report from the Albany Fire Department states that firefighters responded to a quadruplex building at 1527 Dawson Road shortly after 10 p.m. on Monday, and that there was a deceased elderly female on the scene.
Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler identified the woman as Debra Lynn Watson, 67. Fowler said he was in the process of pulling her medical records on Tuesday, stating she may have died before the fire despite the initial theory that smoke inhalation was believed to be the cause of death.
He said a blood test for carbon dioxide for Watson came back negative, indicating that while the fire may have played a role in her death, it was not the primary cause.
“It is natural, not accidental,” Fowler said.
A call to an official with the AFD seeking more information about the fire was not immediately returned on Tuesday.
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