Berkeley woman killed in Poet's Corner fire identified

"Mary Ellen Bruns had lived at 1301 Poe St. for a little over a decade, and had struggled in recent years, according to her landlord. Her cause of death remains under investigation, according to the Alameda County Sheriff's Office's Coroner's Bureau. Authorities have not said what started the fire, which is also still under investigation."

"Steve Moros, who owns the duplex where Bruns lived, said she frequently kept her unit filthy, with old food and dirt strewn around her kitchen, and cigarette butts on the floors. Moros often asked Bruns if he could help her shape up the apartment but she would refuse, he said. She would also sometimes refuse to allow inspectors from the Berkeley Housing Authority to visit the unit."

"Bruns also appeared to have had several health scares, with paramedics coming to her unit five or six times over the last two years, Moros said. On Feb. 4, Moros was working at the Bancroft Community Garden, where he is garden coordinator, when a visitor told him there was a smell of smoke in the air."

Mary Ellen Bruns, 74, died in a fire at her Poe Street duplex in Berkeley on February 4, 2026. She had lived in the unit for over a decade while receiving Section 8 housing assistance. Her landlord reported that Bruns struggled with maintaining her living space, frequently refusing help and declining housing authority inspections. Paramedics had responded to her unit five or six times over the previous two years. The landlord discovered the fire after being alerted to smoke in the area and attempted rescue efforts alongside firefighters, who recovered her body. Both her cause of death and the fire's origin remain under investigation by authorities.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org