Neighbor Describes Deadly House Fire In SW OKC

A deadly fire claimed the life of a woman on Saturday morning in southwest Oklahoma City.

The fire started around 7 a.m. near S.W. 42^nd and Portland. A neighbor saw flames coming from the house shortly after he woke up. He said he called 911 then ran to help, knowing his neighbor could still be inside her home.

"By the time I got over there, started kicking on the door," said the neighbor, who did not want to be identified. "Flames just started, just got to where it was coming out the top of the roof. The glass was getting so hot it started to pop the two top panes out of the window."

He said another man who lives on the street also came outside after hearing the commotion and tried to help.

7/6/2013 Related Story: One Person Killed In House Fire In Southwest OKC 

"He caught up to me and he went to her bedroom window and tried knocking and banging on it. And by that time her room was already filled with smoke and the heat was getting too bad for us to try to even go in," he said.

When crews arrived on scene just a few minutes later, flames were coming out of the front of the house.

"We immediately assigned a crew to do a search. They located one victim in the back bedroom of the house," explained Maj. Bobby Billeg with the Oklahoma City Fire Department. "That victim was removed from the house to attempt first-aid it was determined that they had passed away."

Billeg said it took crews only about ten minutes to put the fire out, but there was thick smoke throughout the small house. He also said police were on scene investigating and an arson investigation would be completed to figure out why the fire started.

The identity of the woman killed in the fire was not immediately released.