An apartment fire that left a woman dead Saturday started on her kitchen stovetop, according to North Little Rock Fire Capt. John Pflasterer.
In a report released Monday afternoon, North Little Rock police said Judith Hughes Melton, 54, was killed in a fire that began Saturday morning at her apartment in Eastgate Terrace, 622 E. 19th St.
Before arriving at the scene around 8:50 a.m., police Sgt. Brian Dedrick said, officers were told that there may be a person in a wheelchair inside. The door to the apartment was locked, and officers could not open it until North Little Rock firefighters arrived, the spokesman said.
Melton was reportedly taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
An officer who inhaled smoke was also taken to the hospital, where he received treatment for injuries that were not life-threatening.