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Elderly Woman Killed In Southwest Michigan Fire

DOWAGIAC (AP) - Authorities in southwestern Michigan say a 71-year-old woman has died of smoke inhalation from a fire at her home.

The Dowagiac Department of Public Safety says that Lola Dodson died at Borgess Lee Memorial Hospital. Mlive.com says firefighters arrived at her house about 11 p.m. Tuesday.

The department says the fire was accidental and started in a kitchen trash container, possibly from discarded smoking materials. It says Dodson was alone at the time of the fire and was able to summon help using a medical alert monitoring service.

Authorities say the home lacked working smoke detectors.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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