Officials: Cause of fatal fire in North Vernon remains under investigation

By Mark Webber
First Posted: October 16, 2012 - 1:20 am
Last Updated: October 16, 2012 - 1:21 am

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The cause of a Friday morning fire at this home on Persimmon Drive in North Vernon that claimed the life of Tijera Ann ''T.J.'' Waggoner, 59, has not yet been determined. PHOTO BY MARK WEBBER

NORTH VERNON

A social services professional who died in a Friday morning fire succumbed to smoke inhalation while trying to escape her single-story home, Jennings County Deputy Coroner James Fletcher said Monday.

An autopsy was conducted Sunday on Tijera Ann “T.J.” Waggoner, who was 59.

First-responders found the wife of attorney Charles Waggoner in the garage of their home on Persimmon Drive, near Jennings County Middle School on North Vernon’s west side, Fletcher said.

Fletcher said he believes she was trying to escape the house when she succumbed to the smoke. Paramedics who arrived at the scene also suspect she might have been trying to rescue her pet, which also died in the fire.

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