CAPE ELIZABETH — A Cape Elizabeth woman was found dead after a fire in her kitchen Friday afternoon, reports Portland television station WGME, CBS 13.
Sgt. Joel Davis of the state fire marshal’s office said a relative found Lamy Alkurdy, 65, around 1 p.m. Friday and called to report a fire. He said the fire at 75 Starboard Drive started on the stove.
When firefighters arrived they quickly put the fire out and tried to revive Alkurdy but it was too late. The cause of death is unknown at this time. Officials said she could have died from the fire, trying to escape or before it even started.
“Unfortunately in this case, we don’t know what happened,” said Davis. “Right now we’re still looking into that. So I don’t know if something happened during the escape or if it was a result of someone trying to fight the fire.”
Right now, the fire marshal’s office is treating it as a fire death, but that could change depending on what comes out of the medical examination, which is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday.
Neighbors said Alkurdy lived there for several years and just purchased a new, bigger home down the street. They say she was a wonderful, generous person who was very close to her family. “She was just a very kind, you know, very happy woman. Always just with her family and just very kind and very happy,” said neighbor Kate Durgin.