CHINA GROVE — A house fire at 285 Concordia Church Road in China Grove on Tuesday night was caused by a cooking-related incident, according to Rowan County Fire Division Chief Deborah Horne.

Horne said Wednesday she was unable to identify the person who was killed in the fire, but she said the residence was owned by 78-year-old Carolyn Morrow.

Morrow and Morrow’s late husband were founding members of the Atwell Volunteer Fire Department, which is just down the road from where they lived.

Horne said the victim of the fire had three children who came to check on her during the day and that someone always stayed with her at night.

Firefighters discovered that the house was on fire after seeing a large amount of smoke in the area about 7 p.m. Tuesday.

“The firefighters did a great job,” Horne said.

They carried the victim outside and started CPR, she said.

Horne said CPR was unsuccessful and that EMS personnel on the scene pronounced the victim dead.

Horne said investigators are not yet sure whether the victim was already dead when firefighters arrived.

Contact reporter Jessica Coates at 704-797-4222.