BOARDMAN — A township woman was killed in a fire at her 1737 Nova Lane home Monday morning.

Boardman fire Chief Mark Pitzer said the woman, who has not yet been identified, called 911 around 10:30 a.m. and said she was trapped. He said dispatchers were on the phone with her until less than a minute before firefighters arrived on scene, but they lost contact with her before firefighters arrived.

Pitzer said firefighters found the victim in her hospital bed in the lower-level living room of the split-level house. She was taken to St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The chief said the cause is still under investigation and the state fire marshal was called to assist. He said the fire was contained to the living room where it started, but there is smoke and water damage throughout the home.

Pitzer said the victim was the only one home at the time. He said she was in her 60s or 70s.

He said the Boardman Fire Department was assisted by tankers from the Western Reserve Joint Fire District and Cardinal Joint Fire District.

He said one township firefighter suffered minor burns on his face after his face mask came loose, but he was checked at the scene and returned to work.

Nova Lane is off Sheridan Road in the township’s northeast quadrant.

2023 FATAL FIRE

The last fatal fire in Boardman occurred Nov. 21, 2023, two days before Thanksgiving. That fire was reported around 7:15 a.m. by neighbors, who reported seeing smoke coming from the home at 357 Afton Ave. When crews arrived, neighbors told them they had not seen the man, later identified as Danny Rubesich, 64, leave the burning home, according to reports.

The victim, who was found lying in a first-floor hallway, suffered some burns and inhaled a lot of smoke, Pitzer said at the time. He lived alone, according to neighbors.

That fire started in the kitchen and burned through the ceiling of the Cape Cod-style home, spreading to the attic and second floor.

It was the second serious house fire in that block of Afton Avenue. In July, a house in the 300 block was severely damaged in what officials labeled an arson. David L. Idleburgh, 40, of Boardman, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted aggravated arson in that case and was sentenced to probation and treatment after it was determined he suffered from mental health issues.