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Woman dies in Glendale house fire
An elderly woman is dead after a fire erupted inside a home near 63rd Avenue and Peoria. FOX 10's Andrew Christiansen learns more about what may have caused the deadly blaze.
GLENDALE, Ariz. - A woman is dead after a house fire in Glendale early Sunday morning.
What we know:
The smell of burnt wood from the house lingered in the air by the afternoon after the blaze happened at around 1:30 a.m. on June 14, near 63rd and Peoria avenues. According to police, the victim was found inside the burning house and taken to a nearby hospital where she later died.
"That fire was spreading rapidly and that could have probably lit up this whole block," neighbor Brandon Ojeda said.
Having just left the Marine Corp, Ojeda said he saw it as an opportunity to help, so he tried to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher.
"If I could put out the fire before it could get any worse than it is, then I'm going to try and do it," Ojeda said. "I wet my shirt with the knowledge of putting a wet shirt over your face will protect you from the heat, the fire, the smoke inhalation."
What we don't know:
Officials are still looking into what caused the fire.
What they're saying:
A neighbor says investigators told him this fire might have started because of an electrical issue.
"I saw sparks in the back start emitting, and I am like this is an electrical fire," Ojeda said. "I have no knowledge on this. If I touch the wrong thing, I might be a hindrance."
"I had a light flashing through the restroom window and my neighbor’s car is parked over here, and I thought maybe his alarm is going off. So I come wandering out here in my shorts like holy cow," neighbor Don McDowell said. "I mean there was a fire truck parked right here sucking out of that fire hydrant."
Dig deeper:
Ojeda said he let the police and fire departments handle the situation but said he hoped he helped even just a little.
"I would hope that the neighbors would do the same thing for us because the last thing anyone wants is for their house to be on fire," Ojeda said.
Map of the area.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from the Glendale Fire Department, the Glendale Police Department, and a neighbor.