Woman, 80, rescued from Byrne Rd. blaze

1/9/2003

A Toledo police officer and a tenant carried an 80-year-old woman to safety last night after a couch caught fire in her apartment on South Byrne Road.

Rescued from the smoky apartment was Jacqueline Riffne, who uses a wheelchair. She was reported to be unhurt.

Firefighters said the blaze set off a smoke detector in the hallway of Crossgates Manor, 1852 South Byrne, about 10:20 p.m.

Officer Arrow Osborne, in his cruiser on Byrne, heard the fire call from dispatchers and arrived before firefighters got there. He said the woman apparently fell asleep while smoking and the couch caught fire. Damage was set at $5,000.