A 53-year-old woman who was in critical condition after a fire broke out in her hotel room in New Castle early Tuesday morning has died, Assistant State Fire Marshall Michael G. Chionchio said on Thursday.
She died on Wednesday, Chionchio said. The number of deaths by fire in Delaware is now nine compared with 10 for the entire 2021.
Wilmington Manor Fire Company was called to the Quality Inn next to New Castle Airport just before 4 a.m., officials said. Firefighters found smoke coming from one of the rooms with a guest trapped inside, according to Chionchio.
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Firefighters rescued the woman from her hotel room, and paramedics resuscitated her outside the building, Chionchio reported. She was taken to Christiana Hospital in critical condition for smoke inhalation and “major burns,” according to New Castle County Paramedics.
Chionchio said she was later transferred to Crozer Medical Center in Upland, Pennsylvania. The woman’s identity has not been released, and the cause of the fire is unknown. Chionchio estimated damage at about $200,000.
The hotel building was still blocked off with caution tape five hours after the fire as police and the State Fire Marshal’s Office investigated. Other guests were relocated, Chionchio said.
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