Southbridge woman dies after being rescued from house fire

A woman in her 60s died after a large fire broke out in a Southbridge home Monday afternoon, fire officials said.

“Our hearts go out to the family that lost a loved one,” Southbridge Fire Chief Normandin said.

Southbridge firefighters responded to a house fire at 417 South St. Monday afternoon, the fire department said in a press release Monday.

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,” the department said.

Neighbors told firefighters that someone who lived in the home was still inside, according to the department.

Crews found the woman on the first floor of the home and removed her from the building, fire officials said.

The victim was transported to UMass Memorial-Harington Hospital in critical condition, then flown to Mass General Hospital, officials said.

The woman later died at Mass General, Normandin, Southbridge Police Chief Shane Woodson, State Fire Marshal Jon Davine, and the Worcester County District Attorney’s office said in a press release Tuesday.

First responders who responded to the fire reported that there were no audible fire alarms, the officials said.

The woman’s death marks the eighth this year in a Massachusetts home without working smoke alarms, Davine said in Tuesday’s release. 

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, officials said.

“Please, if you do just one thing today, take five minutes to check the smoke alarms in your home,” Normandin said in Tuesday’s release. “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. And if you need help with any of these actions, just call us.”

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