A woman is dead after a house fire in Suffield and officials are trying to determine what started the blaze.
Fire was reported around 7 p.m. on Wednesday and the house at 1489 Mapleton Ave. was fully engulfed.
Two people were able to escape from the home, but one woman was trapped.
Firefighters said the flames compromised the structure, making it impossible for crews to save her.
“There was so much fire coming out of the house that they made a decision to make it a defensive fire,” Capt. Mike Thibedeau, of the Suffield Fire Department, said.
Firefighters found the woman's body on the second floor of the home. Her name and age have not been released.
Neighbors said the fire was fierce.
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"It was so rapid, almost like an explosion," George Baginiski said.
The woman who was killed had been trying to find her mother after the smoke alarms went off, according to nearby residents.
“Flames were shooting out … through the roof,” said Ron Ostrowski, who spent Thursday cleaning debris on his property from the fire next door.
Neighbors said the woman's boyfriend and mother got out of the house.
"She was just saying, 'My daughter’s in the house. My daughter’s in the house. My daughter’s in the house.' It was very sad," Rebecca Griffith, a neighbor, said.
Residents described the family as quiet.
“They just kept to themselves,” Ostrowski said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
"It's just devastating. It's right in your front yard. ... It's real," said Brian Griffith.
