Woman, 70, dies in Avegno house fire after going back in for her cats

The fire

On the evening of Thursday, 29 October, a fire broke out in a house on via Posato in Avegno, a village in the hinterland of Recco in the province of Genoa. Adnkronos puts the call at around 22.45. ANSA reports that the flames probably started at the fireplace and spread quickly through the house, where a 70-year-old woman lived with her husband. Firefighters from Chiavari and Rapallo, with an aerial unit, a water tanker and a team from the Genoa headquarters, were sent to the scene.

Return into the burning house

According to witnesses cited by ANSA, the couple had already got out before the fire brigade arrived. The woman then went back in for her cats, which were still trapped by the flames. Il Messaggero reports that the roof collapsed while she was inside, and Adnkronos says nothing could be done to save her. The initial assessment, reported by Adnkronos and Il Messaggero, is that she died from inhaling too much smoke. Notícias ao Minuto, citing the Italian broadcaster Primocanale, says the death was declared at the scene. The house was completely destroyed, and firefighters brought the blaze under control during the night.

Who she was

Fanpage reports that the woman had been a primary school teacher for her whole career. About 15 years earlier she moved to breed Maine Coon cats. She was a member of the Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe), and many of the cats she bred had been adopted by other families, with whom she stayed in contact. Fanpage says she kept around 20 cats in the house and that all were safe except three, which were missing. Notícias ao Minuto, citing Primocanale, gives a different count: 17 survived and three remain missing. Her husband left the house with her and is unhurt, according to Fanpage. Notícias ao Minuto gives her age as 69, while the Italian outlets report 70.

Open questions

The cause of the fire has not been established. ANSA and Il Messaggero name the fireplace as the likely starting point, Il Messaggero noting that no confirmation exists yet, while Fanpage cites a short circuit as a working hypothesis. Carabinieri attended the scene to establish how the fire happened. Notícias ao Minuto reports that they returned on the morning of 30 October with support from the fire brigade's national fire investigation unit, the NIA. Il Messaggero says the NIA inquiries began the morning after the fire.