Fire claims life of elderly woman

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Fire has claimed the life of an elderly woman in Providence.

Firefighters were called to 130 Early Street after 7:30 Thursday evening.

A woman living on the first floor was rushed to the Rhode Island Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

Beatrice Kodjo and her father, who live on the second floor, say they tried to help the victim.

"We knocked on the door to see if she was there, but she didn't respond," Kodjo said.

Other eyewitnesses, like Angela Grandy, say they watched helplessly as the smoke thickened.

"Nobody could go in because the way the smoke started coming out more and more," Grandy said, "By the time they found her she was, I guess, already unconscious. When they came out she was laying on the bed and they got her in the ambulance."

One firefighter was taken to the hospital with neck and back injuries.

Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Desmaris says there was extensive damage to the multi-family home, mainly in the basement and on the first-floor.

The cause remains under investigation.

The victim's name has not been released, but firefighters say she was in her early 80s.

Other tenants living in the building were displaced.