A structure fire at 1366 Old Georgetown Rd. in the early hours of March 20 claimed the life of a 73-year-old Lampasas County resident.
Julie Marie Davis-Raley was pronounced dead at the scene following fire suppression efforts.
Lampasas Fire Marshal Bart Baker told the Dispatch Record the cause of the fire remains undetermined.
“I did run a State Fire Marshal’s Office accelerant detection K-9 on the scene, and the victim was sent for autopsy at Austin Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office,” Baker said.
First responders received word of a possible fire via a 911 call at 2:14 a.m. March 20 placed by a resident who lives across the street in a mobile home park.
“They reported initially possibly a grass fire, and a second 911 call in a few seconds confirmed it was a structure fire,” the fire marshal said.
Since the incident occurred outside city limits, Baker said the Lampasas Volunteer Fire Department was the first to arrive on the scene at 2:22 a.m. First responders were unsure whether the home was occupied upon their arrival.
“Throughout the series of the events, we had determined nobody had seen her leave the house and her vehicle was there, and at that point we assumed it was occupied,” Baker said. “Sometime later after suppression efforts we were able to locate a victim.”
Davis-Raley was deceased when firefighters located her.
The fire marshal said flames quickly engulfed the home, but firefighters were able to contain the fire from causing further damage to other structures.
The scene was cleared shortly after 9 a.m., Baker said.
Agencies assisting on the scene included the Lampasas VFD, Lampasas Fire Department, Kempner Volunteer Fire Department, Lampasas County Sheriff’s Office and Hamilton EMS.
