Woman dies in Tacoma’s third fatal house fire this month

A 51-year-old woman died early Saturday after the house she was in caught fire on Tacoma’s East Side.

Joann Silvestri’s death marked the third fatal house fire in Tacoma this month.

“It’s disappointing,” Tacoma Fire spokesman Joe Meinecke said. “Obviously we’re in the business of trying to save folks. It’s hard when it doesn’t happen.”

Neighbors had tried to put out the fire, but Silvestri was unresponsive when fire crews arrived.

The Tacoma Fire Department reached the house on the 1300 block of East Harrison Street at 1:48 a.m. They found smoke and flames shooting from the two-story home.

Silvestri was declared dead at the scene. No one else was in the home, Meinecke said.

A fire investigator was at the house Saturday to determine what caused the fire. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause of the woman’s death, Meinecke said.

On Jan. 18, Deneen Evans, 48, was killed in an apartment fire in the 1800 block of South 84th Street. Her 5-year-old grandson was injured in the fire.

On Jan. 8, Paula Zimmer-Friant, 58, was found dead after fire engulfed a home in the 3800 block of East Spokane Street.

Meinecke said the fires had unrelated causes and did not appear intentional.

Silvestri’s neighbors on East Harrison Street told KIRO-TV that people tried to put out the fire before crews arrived.

“She was a good lady. … ,” neighbor Stuart Guy told KIRO. “It’s a sad situation you know, to be sleeping and you’re gone.”

This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 9:27 AM with the headline "Woman dies in Tacoma’s third fatal house fire this month."