Fire fatality still under investigation

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    By MARK MORRIS

    The funeral for Julianne Nelms, the 34-year-old Provo woman involved in a gasoline vapor fire in her basement Feb. 26, will be held Tuesday, said Nelms’ neighbor, Michelle Valgardson.

    Nelms was in critical condition at the University of Utah Burn Unit, for treatment of third-degree-burns on 80 percent of her body, said Chuck Tandy, battalion chief at the Provo Fire Department.

    Although the cause of the fire is undetermined, Nelms received her burns while cleaning a frame with gasoline, Tandy said.

    Valgardson said Nelms died around 3 p.m. Tuesday.

    Nelms’ brother-in-law, Len Philips, said that after the service Tuesday, Nelms’ body will be interred in a family plot in Santa Monica, Calif.

    Philips said family members are trying to cope with Nelms’ death.

    “They are all dealing with it daily, holding up now until the day of the funeral,” he said.

    Valgardson said that she did not think Nelms’ three children had yet grasped their mother’s death.

    Philips said that the Nelms are living with relatives in the area. Nelms’ husband and two boys are living with the husband’s brother in Orem. Nelms’ daughter is living with her grandmother, also in Orem.

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