CASEY, A5
By ELLEN SOROKIN
Journal staff writer
A fire engulfed a two-level home in McLean early yesterday, killing an elderly woman and injuring her caretaker.
Fairfax County fire officials found Emelene Casey, 83, dead in her bed in an upstairs bedroom in her 83-year-old home at 1335 Balls Hill Road. Her caretaker, Marcus Carter, 47, suffered a laceration to his hand when he tried to break a bedroom window in an effort to save the victim.
Minutes before the fire consumed the home, Carter had awakened to the smell of smoke and called out to Casey to awaken her, according to Carter's sister, Adene Hill.
Carter then climbed out of his bedroom window, clambered onto the roof and crawled to a point outside Casey's window.
"He started banging on it but he couldn't break the glass," Hill said.
Carter then jumped off the roof and ran to a neighboring house to get help, Hill said.
During that time, the fire and smoke quickly spread through the home.
Carter ran back to the burning home and tried to open the back door, but it was too hot to touch, Hill said. Then he started banging on the glass window, but all his efforts to save the woman he had taken care of for several years were unsuccessful, Hill said.
"Now he thinks he failed, but he didn't. He's a hero," Hill said.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation yesterday afternoon, according to Lt. Kerwin McNamara.
The blaze caused an estimated $70,000 in damages, according to fire officials. They had not determined its cause by last night.
Several hours after the 4:15 a.m. fire, Casey's friends gathered outside the burned shell of the home to remember the woman who had just celebrated her 83rd birthday on July 3.
"She was like a pistol," remembered Ellen Grayson-Barnes, who years ago grew up next door to Casey. "She was a strong woman."
Casey suffered several tragedies in her life, including the untimely death of her husband in the 1950s, according to family friends. Her husband died after he fell through a manhole while walking on a path next to her home, friends said. Police found him there a week later, friends said.
"She never remarried after that," said Myra Williams, Carter's sister.
Casey also always stood "her ground" on issues, Grayson-Barnes said.
In the last years of her life, Casey refused to sell her two acres of land to developers. "She loved her home," Grayson-Barnes said.
In August, Casey planned to remodel the home where she spent most of her life. The home, which she had later shared with her husband, was built shortly after her birth.
But the home, McNamara said, had no smoke detectors and no "fire-stopping" material inside the walls, which ultimately caused the fire to spread quickly throughout the wooden structure.
"She was an outgoing lady," Williams said. "A nice lady. She was a person who did a lot for the community."*/ "Now he thinks he failed, but he didn't. He's a hero," Hill said.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation yesterday afternoon, according to Lt. Kerwin McNamara.
The blaze caused an estimated $70,000 in damages, according to fire officials. They had not determined its cause by last night.
Several hours after the 4:15 a.m. fire, Casey's friends gathered outside the burned shell of the home to remember the woman who had just celebrated her 83rd birthday on July 3.
"She was like a pistol," remembered Ellen Grayson-Barnes, who years ago grew up next door to Casey. "She was a strong woman."
Casey suffered several tragedies in her life, including the untimely death of her husband in the 1950s, according to family friends. Her husband died after he fell through a manhole while walking on a path next to her home, friends said. Police found him there a week later, friends said.
"She never remarried after that," said Myra Williams, Carter's sister.
Casey also always stood "her ground" on issues, Grayson-Barnes said.
In the last years of her life, Casey refused to sell her two acres of land to developers. "She loved her home," Grayson-Barnes said.
In August, Casey planned to remodel the home where she spent most of her life. The home, which she had later shared with her husband, was built shortly after her birth.
But the home, McNamara said, had no smoke detectors and no "fire-stopping" material inside the walls, which ultimately caused the fire to spread quickly throughout the wooden structure.
"She was an outgoing lady," Williams said. "A nice lady. She was a person who did a lot for the community."