Published: September 02, 2009 10:56 am      

Alvarado woman dies in Tuesday fire

A residence fire Tuesday night claimed the life of a 51-year-old Alvarado woman, according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

Joanna Falls, who lived in the 7000 block of Greenfield Court near Alvarado, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her remains were transported to the Tarrant County Medical Examiners Office, where a preliminary examination was being conducted Wednesday.

According to a sheriff’s office spokesman, Falls was asleep in the north end of the single-wide trailer home, located outside the city limits off County Road 401.

At about 11 p.m., a family member returning from another building on the property observed the fire.

The family member was unable to enter the residence to rescue the occupant because of smoke and heat.

Firefighters from Alvarado, Grandview, Liberty Chapel and Blue Water Oaks responded. The residence was a total loss, said Alvarado Fire Chief Richard Van Winkle.

“It was fully involved when our people arrived,” he said. “The roof had already collapsed.”

The sheriff’s office was contacted by the Alvarado Police Department at 12:05 a.m. Wednesday and asked to send a deputy to the scene because of the fatality, according to the spokesman.

Criminal Investigation Division Lt. Mike Gaudet said information about where the fire started was not being released at this time.

Gaudet said the investigation would address “cause and origin of the fire and whether the death was from natural causes or not.”

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Johnson County Sheriff’s Office at 817-556-6058.