Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

1 dead, 1 injured in western North Carolina fire

SYLVA, N.C. -- One person died and another was injured in a fire at a retirement community in western North Carolina.

The Asheville Citizen Times reported Sunday that rescue workers received a report at 2:08 a.m. of a fire at Jackson Village, a retirement community in Sylva.

Sylva police chief Jeff Jamison said a breezeway connecting apartments caught fire, destroying the four apartments it connected. Officials say 76-year-old Forrest Lee Aikens lived in one of those apartments and died at the scene.

Another resident was injured after jumping from the second story to escape the flames. Jamison wasn't sure of the nature of the resident's injuries, but said they were not life-threatening. The resident was transported to Mission Hospital for treatment.

Jamison said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.