Sebring woman dies, one person seriously injured in house fire

Courtesy: Highlands County Sheriff's Office

A Sebring woman died and a man was seriously injured in a house fire on Wednesday night, deputies say.

Highlands County deputies say they responded to the home on Lake Sebring Boulevard after 9 p.m. and were told a woman was still inside. When the first deputy arrived, a neighbor was spraying the home with a water hose. Paul William Eggen, 73, was sitting outside. Deputies say smoke from inside the home darkened his face and he had serious injuries. 

He explained he last saw 65-year-old Helen Denise Eggen at the back of the home after the fire broke out, deputies say. Paul was airlifted to a nearby hospital, but Helen passed away inside the home, they say.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Both are relatives.