Woman killed in RV fire near Port of Tacoma identified by medical examiner

A woman who Tacoma Fire Department officials said was killed in an RV fire in October near the Port of Tacoma was identified Wednesday by the medical examiner.

Shanna Robertson, 44 of Tacoma, died Oct. 30 after the vehicle caught fire near 2199 Maxwell Way, according to a news release from the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office. The cause and manner of the woman’s death are pending further investigation.

Fire crews were dispatched at about 12:40 a.m. The fire was well underway by the time firefighters arrived. Assistant fire chief Alex Wilsie previously told The News Tribune that it was too late to save the person inside. He said a bystander reported hearing screams. The medical examiner later removed the victim’s body from the destroyed RV.

Wilsie said in a phone call Wednesday that a propane device being used for heat caused the fire. He said it ignited combustible material inside the RV. The fire was ruled accidental by the fire marshal.

This story was originally published December 14, 2022 at 11:15 AM.

Peter Talbot

The News Tribune

Peter Talbot is a criminal justice reporter for The News Tribune. He started with the newspaper in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at NPR in Washington, D.C. He also interned for the Oregonian and the Tampa Bay Times. Support my work with a digital subscription