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Six People Die From Fire Related Incidents

POSTED: 4:52 pm PDT October 23, 2007
UPDATED: 9:29 am PDT October 24, 2007

Six evacuees of the firestorms in San Diego County died with one death directly related to the fires, two that occurred during evacuation activities and three that happened after the decedents were evacuated.

The most recent fatality included in these statistics is James Sharp, 64, a resident of the La Costa Glen nursing home in Carlsbad who was admitted to Alvarado Hospital upon evacuation. His condition rapidly declined and he did not recover, dying on October 23. His cause of death is pending.

Thomas James Varshock, 52, of Tecate, died on his property during the Harris Fire on Sunday, Oct. 21.

Alla Robinson, 91, stopped breathing and died about 3:30 p.m. Monday as she was being transported from Fallbrook Hospital, where she was a patient, to Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, said Rick Poggemeyer, operations administrator with the county Medical Examiner's Office.

Early Tuesday morning, 92-year-old Donald Swarting, a resident of Mount Miguel Covenant Village Nursing Home in Spring Valley, began suffering from shortness of breath and chest pains while preparing for evacuation, Poggemeyer said.

He was helped to a restroom, where he passed out and died about 4:50 a.m., according to Poggemeyer.

June Brewer, 95, evacuated her Rancho Bernardo home Monday, then booked a room at an Old Town hotel, where she was found dead in her bed shortly before 7:30 Tuesday morning.

Investigators determined that Robinson, Swarting and Brewer all died of natural causes, Poggemeyer said.

Suzanne Casey, 62, also left her Rancho Bernardo home at the direction of public-safety officials Monday, then spent some time at the city of San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium emergency shelter before checking into a Pacific Beach hotel.

In the evening, she visited a next-door restaurant. While leaving the eatery, she fell down a set of steps and was knocked unconscious.

She was pronounced dead of apparent head trauma at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla shortly before midnight, Poggemeyer said.

An autopsy is scheduled.


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