Firefighters investigating Sunday morning blaze in southwest Canton.

CANTON  A pair of maintenance men working on a rental property broke a glass pane on the neighboring house when they smelled smoke and heard beeping.

Inside, a woman lay dead.

Firefighters were called to 1238 Shadyside Ave. SW shortly after 8:30 a.m. Sunday after the men, who were repairing a water leak next door, smelled smoke, said Investigator Everett Hall of the Canton Fire Department's Fire Prevention Bureau.

Capt. Derek Paige said the men went to investigate the cause of the smoke, "busted the front-door window pane and shone a flashlight through." They saw the woman and called police, who in turn called firefighters.

Arriving firefighters found no active fire.

Fire Investigator Everett Hall said there were no flames, "only smoldering."

"There are a lot of oxygen bottles, and we believe it was an oxygen-rich environment."

Harry Campbell, chief investigator for Stark County Coroner Dr. Anthony Bertin, said Bertin pronounced the woman dead at 9:39 a.m. Sunday.

Investigators remained on the scene at 10:30 a.m., trying to determine what led to her death and to locate her next of kin.

They're also trying to determine when she died.

Hall said the maintenance men told investigators a recycle bin from the house was sitting on the curb as recently as 5 p.m. Saturday, but Sunday morning it was sitting on the woman's front porch.


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