2 dead after being pulled from west Phoenix house fire

PHOENIX - Two people found unconscious inside a burning west Phoenix home were rushed to a hospital in extremely critical condition and on June 24, police confirmed they died.

The Phoenix Fire Department says crews on June 22 responded to a house fire near 107th Avenue and Camelback Road. When firefighters got to the scene, they found flames and smoke coming from inside the home.

As firefighters fought the flames, they found a man and a woman unconscious and not breathing. The victims were taken to a hospital.

The two were reportedly listed in extremely critical condition, and died on June 23, says Phoenix Police Sgt. Brian Bower. They are 67-year-old Terese Tappan and 76-year-old male William Dunn.

While the home's interior is destroyed, flames did not cause much damage to the home's exterior.

No firefighters were hurt.

Area residents react

2 seriously injured in Phoenix house fire

Two people are listed in extremely critical condition, after they were pulled out of a burning home in West Phoenix. FOX 10's Nicole Garcia spoke with witnesses, who said the flames appear to have sparked inside of the home.

According to neighbors, an elderly man was left at the home alone, and they believe it was him and a caretaker that firefighters rescued.

David Jimenez witnessed the fire. He said he was asleep when someone knocked on his door and warned him that the house next door was on fire.

"I came around the side of the house, and I saw the fire," said Jimenez. "That's where I saw the fire just gushing. I grabbed my water hose, and started spraying the eave so it wouldn't jump over to my house."

Jimenez also saw the two people being taken out of the home.

"We saw when the paramedics had the gentleman that lived here, they were giving him CPR," Jimenez said. "Earlier, they took the lady in an ambulance, and they had a puppy over there. They were giving him oxygen."

Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire. One owner, however, believes the fire may have been electrical after a fire almost sparked inside her home.

"There's something going on with these houses," said Linda Vargas. "I don't know who wired them. Even when you put in a new outlet, I had the security lights put in by a licensed electrician, and they shorted out. They were black."

An investigation into the cause of the fire remains ongoing.