Woman killed in camp fire in Millbury on Saturday night

(This story has been updated to change or add a photo or video.)

MILLBURY – A woman died Saturday night in a small brush fire believed to have started at a campground, authorities said.

On Monday, the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office identified the victim as 49-year-old Maryann Audette.

In the statement made by the Fire Department, the following statements were made:

At approximately 8:20 p.m. Saturday, a Massachusetts State Police trooper responded to a brush fire in the area of the Blackstone River Bike Trail near state Route 146 in Millbury.

Audette was in a camp. The trooper notified the Millbury Fire Department and police, and the fire was completely extinguished.

Audette was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause and manner of death will be determined by the chief medical examiner.

At the time of the fire, the state had issued a red flag warning that any outdoor fire could spread quickly and be difficult to extinguish due to dry and windy conditions.

The campground is just south of the border between Worcester and Millbury. The bike path, now open to the public, is located south of the Worcester Walmart on Tobias Boland Way.

On Monday, the area where the fire occurred was surrounded by yellow tape.

Inside the yellow strip were shopping carts filled with personal items, including clothing.

Garbage bags were also seen in the area closed with yellow tape.

Drug paraphernalia could be seen on a table outside the yellow tape.

Samantha Olney of HALO Greater Worcester, a homeless advocacy group founded by homeless people to support homeless substance users and advocate for them in the community, said she knew Audette and was devastated.

Olney said in an email that he “cannot emphasize enough” that homeless people should not camp alone.

Additionally, Olney called for an approved camp to be established in the city to provide some stability for the homeless. You have Olney petition has been filed before The City Council authorized such an encampment, but the idea was voted down.

Brush fires have become a problem across the state this past week due to drought conditions.

Fire crews from several Central Massachusetts communities on Wednesday. fought an intense brush fire It covered five acres in a wooded area in Holden, near the Paxton town line. The Sutton Fire Department also responded to a brush fire near a home in a wooded area off Whitins Road.

Related Posts