Southbridge woman dies after being rescued from house fire

"Our hearts go out to the family that lost a loved one. Please, if you do just one thing today, take five minutes to check the smoke alarms in your home. Check the manufacturing date on the back to be sure they're less than 10 years old, test them to be sure they're working properly, and put fresh alkaline batteries in alarms that use them."

"When firefighters arrived, the fire was showing from side windows with heavy smoke visible. Additional departments were called for backup due to the volume of fire and the need for additional resources. Neighbors told firefighters that someone who lived in the home was still inside."

"The woman's death marks the eighth this year in a Massachusetts home without working smoke alarms. Upon investigating the home, investigators located multiple potential causes of the fire, all of which were in the kitchen on the first floor. All of the possible causes were determined to be accidental."

A woman in her 60s perished in a house fire at 417 South Street in Southbridge on Monday afternoon. Firefighters arrived to find heavy fire and smoke showing from side windows. Neighbors reported someone was still inside the home. Crews located the woman on the first floor and transported her to UMass Memorial-Harington Hospital in critical condition, then to Mass General Hospital, where she later died. Investigators found no working smoke alarms in the home and identified multiple accidental fire causes in the kitchen. This death represents the eighth Massachusetts home fire fatality this year involving non-functional smoke alarms, prompting fire officials to urge residents to check and maintain their smoke detection systems.

Read at Boston.com