Officials Question Story of Mother of 2 Who Died in Fire

A mother who told police she was in the next room when an apartment fire that killed her two children erupted Tuesday may not have been home when the fire started, National City fire investigators said Thursday.

Preliminary findings by the investigators about the cause of the blaze contradict statements the mother, Linda Mortenson, 27, gave police earlier claiming she had just completed a bath Tuesday afternoon when the fire erupted in her living room.

Results of the continuing investigation, firefighters said Thursday, show that the fire swept through Mortenson’s one-bedroom apartment after burning at least half an hour before it was discovered.

Police questioned Mortenson immediately after the fire Tuesday and again on Wednesday evening. On both occasions, Mortenson told police she rushed from the bathroom into the living room and tried to extinguish the fire with pans full of water. National City police Sgt. Mike Connelly said Mortenson told police she realized she could not control the fire, and so tried to grab her daughters, Jamie White, 4, and Sherry White, 3.

Connelly said she then described how the children ran away from her into the bedroom and that she was unable to follow them because of intense heat and smoke in the apartment. She then fled the apartment yelling for help, Connelly said.

But according to National City firefighters, Mortenson did not show burns, singed hair or difficulty in breathing when they arrived at the scene of the fire, which they believe had been burning for at least one-half hour.

“She had very little signs of being involved in heat and smoke,” said George Devendorf, National City Fire Department battalion chief.

According to Devendorf, Mortenson was not officially examined after the fire.

“It is our opinion that the mother returned to the apartment and opened the front door, which sent a rush of oxygen into the room intensifying the fire,” Devendorf said.

Investigators believe this rush of oxygen caused the apartment’s large windows to pop open, sending even more oxygen into the small apartment.

“She would be unable to enter because of the (fire’s) intensity and smoke,” Devendorf said.

National City police plan to question Mortenson a third time when she returns from her daughters’ funeral in Murray, Utah. They said she had given them no date for her return.

Witnesses have told police they saw Mortenson in her apartment with her two daughters around 1 p.m., but don’t recall seeing her when they first noticed the fire.

Police and fire investigators will meet with the district attorney after the investigation to determine if charges against Mortenson will be filed, Connelly said.

“Currently, Mortenson has committed no crime as far as we know,” Connelly said. Meanwhile, fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of Tuesday’s blaze.

Mortenson believes her two children were playing with matches when the fire started.

A report filed Thursday ruled out the apartment’s electricity and gas wall heater as causes of the fire. An electrical engineer will inspect the apartment’s electrical appliances today.