The family members of 63-year-old Cathie Carter confirmed today the human remains found following a Limestone County house fire were hers.

This is the second fatal fire in Limestone County this year.

Meanwhile, the head of Limestone County Water and Sewer Authority, issued a press release about firefighters having to truck water to the victim’s home on Berzett Road, a gravel road off Holt Road. He said the victim “did not live within LCWSA’s current distribution area” and relied on well water.

Fire was reported at Carter’s home in the 23000 block of Berzett at 10:45 a.m. Monday.

A neighbor who was one of the first on the scene said she tried to see if Carter was home but the fire was already so intense it turned her back. Family members arrived and told firefighters and media they believed Carter, their mother and grandmother, was still inside. Firefighters tried to extinguish the blaze, but it devoured the wood-frame home over the next few hours. They had to truck water to the scene because there were no hydrants near Carter’s home.

Once the fire was out, a deputy state fire marshal, firefighters and an investigator from the Limestone Sheriff’s Office combed the rubble and found human remains about 4 p.m. They were sent to the state forensic lab in Huntsville for official identification.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Fire Marshal’s Office.

In a press release issued Tuesday, LCWSA chief executive officer Daryl Williamson said water and sewer authority officials extend their “deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the recent house fire victim.”

He said residents outside the LCSWA service area, like those on Berzett Road, can choose to pay to connect to existing lines, though they would pay 100 percent of the cost. He said while LCWSA does apply for grants to upgrade waterlines, it is not always successful in those applications. He said paying to tie into utility systems is common practice whether it be for water, sewer, gas or power.

Williamson said LCWSA began in the late ’70s and early ’80s as a rural water system created to deliver potable water to its customers.

“At the time, LCWSA began with a few thousand customers and has grown to roughly 22,000 customers,” he said. “The system has had a fair amount of growth. However, it is still largely a rural water system. Even now, various residents of Limestone County provide their own source of water by accessing wells.”