Investigation underway after woman dies in Glendale house fire
GLENDALE, Ariz. - A woman pulled from a burning home near 43rd Ave. and Bell Rd. was hospitalized in critical condition on Thursday, but later died from her injuries.
Phoenix firefighters were called to the scene around 1:45 a.m.
"About 2 o’clock in the morning, we heard a knock on the door asking for help," said area resident Raekesha Enoch. "We came outside. We grabbed our shoes and our phones. We called 911 because we see the house across the street was on fire, and then from that point, we kind of started waking the neighbors up because we didn’t know how long it was going to keep going to get out of control."
The woman who died has been identified as 70-year-old Barbara Wilkes. Firefighters say two other people were inside, but made it out safely and were found in the backyard.
"It was scary, and it was, like, nerve wracking because you really didn’t know," said Enoch. "When they said there was somebody still in the house, it made it, like, kind of antsy and anxious because we hope they’d get help and get out of there. It was scary."
"At this time, the fire will be under investigation, but it's a tri-level home, and we do have damage to the very top floor," said Capt. Kimberly Ragsdale.
Officials say two other people live in the home, but were not there at the time of the fire. Fire investigators also say there were no signs of foul play.