Woman Dies After Critical Burning
A Santa Ana woman who was critically burned Friday morning when she inadvertently set fire to her nightclothes while smoking in bed died early Saturday in UCI Medical Center in Orange, authorities said.
According to a nurse in the medical center’s burn unit, Helen Burd, 71, died about two hours after she underwent emergency surgery to apply skin grafts.
A spokeswoman for the Orange County coroner’s office said it had not been determined whether Burd died as a result of the second- and third-degree burns she suffered to her chest, arms and head, or from natural causes. An autopsy will be conducted.
Burd shared a mobile home with her son, but he was out at the time of the fire. She told firefighters that she fell asleep while smoking a cigarette.
Officials said the fire did not damage the mobile home, in a trailer park on West First Street.
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