Jackson woman dies in apartment fire

A Jackson woman died Sunday afternoon in a fire at her apartment at 320 Shawnee Circle.

Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton identified the woman Sunday night as 61-year-old Sandra Riggins. He said an autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

The fire was called in at 1:50 p.m. and Jackson Fire Department chief Jason Mouser said the fire was confined to the living room of the affected downstairs unit.

Mouser said the fire was under control within 10 minutes. Three surrounding apartments were unoccupied at the time and received "a little bit" of smoke damage, he said.

He said the fire was called in by a neighbor and it's his understanding that just one person lived there. No one else was injured in the incident.

The Jackson Fire Department responded with five trucks and about 17 firefighters. Mouser said one engine with four Cape Girardeau Fire Department members also responded and Fruitland firefighters were on standby and covered any additional calls to the Jackson station.

Clifton said the victim lived alone, as far as he knew, and the fire did not appear to be suspicious.

He said the cause is still under investigation by the Jackson police and fire departments, the county coroners office and the state fire marshal.

Robin Ogburn, an assistant manager at Kidd's convenience store in Jackson, lives across from the apartments. She said she was making a bank deposit when someone told her about the fire. Dropping everything to make sure it wasn't her own home, Ogburn discovered her neighbor had perished in the fire.

"Very sadly we lost a good neighbor. It's just tragic," Ogburn said, adding the woman who lived in the apartment never bothered anyone. "She was just lonely. She was just very, very lonely."

Ogburn said she bought the woman a Christmas scarf and gloves and Christmas cookies and that was the last time she saw her neighbor.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address:

320 Shawnee Circle, Jackson, Mo.