JIM WOODS
The Columbus Dispatch


A woman smoking in bed while on oxygen triggered a raging fire at her East Side home yesterday afternoon, Columbus fire officials said.

The woman, identified by her family as Trudy Workman, 56, was in critical condition in the Ohio State University Medical Center with burns on her face, shoulders, arms, chest and stomach, said Battalion Chief John Vingle.

The fire-gutted house at 5137 Mapleridge Dr. is a total loss, Vingle said. The 1,216-square-foot house is valued at $94,000, according to Franklin County records.

A distraught Robin Workman, Trudy's husband, said his wife suffers from respiratory problems. He was at work when the fire was reported at 4:09 p.m.

As crews were cleaning up late yesterday afternoon, Vingle held a ruptured oxygen tank in his hand. He said that when the tanks break because of a fire's heat, bad things happen.

"The oxygen feeds the fire, and it spreads a lot more quickly," Vingle said.

Neighbors reported a window-rattling explosion, which probably occurred when a gush of oxygen fed the fire.

When firefighters arrived, 20-foot-high flames were shooting out of the back roof, Vingle said.

Daniel Detty, 28, lives two doors down and was loading his car at the time of the explosion.

"I heard a loud boom and looked and saw the house was on fire," hey said.

Detty said he scaled a fence along the driveway and went around the back of the house. He knew Trudy stayed in a back bedroom.

She had managed to walk out of the house and was sitting by her back-porch grill. Detty said flames were everywhere, but he managed to walk her out of the area. Another neighbor helped break down a wooden fence, and they led her to the front yard.

"There was skin hanging off her arms, but she was breathing OK," Detty said. "I'm thankful that she's alive, and I hope she makes it through."

jwoods@dispatch.com

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May 18, 2010