Elderly woman dies in house fire

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- One person is dead and two others are in the hospital, after a big fire broke out at a home in southeast Houston. Now authorities are trying to determine what sparked the blaze.

It started around 5:40am at a home on Berry Creek and Flagstone in southeast Houston. When crews arrived, they had fire and smoke coming from the house.

"My mom screamed when she went into the room that the neighbor's house was on fire. I woke up and called 911," said neighbor Wilbert Reza.

As firefighters arrived they were faced with a wall of fire.

"The entire front of the building was on fire, probably one half into the depth of the building itself," said District Chief Stephen Cichon with the Houston Fire Department.

There were victims trapped inside, among them an elderly woman.

"She was trapped behind a wall of fire and firefighters had to go through a wall of fire to get to her," said Cichon.

But her injuries were overwhelming and she died at the hospital. She was identified as 78-year-old Minnie Brady.

"She was a real nice lady. Anything we needed she was always there. She helped us out and we helped her out," said Reza.

Arson investigators are on the scene to determine a cause.

"Everybody got out and Minnie died at the hospital,"said one family member.

"They had to break through a firewall to get to her and she was severely injured," said another family member. "They say she passed away shortly they got her to the hospital."

Two others were taken to the hospital. The extent of their injuries is not known at this time. At least six family members were inside the home when the fire broke out. Everyone else managed to get out without injury.

There was an issue with water during this fire. When firefighters arrived at the scene they poured water from the truck immediately, that water quickly ran out. It took fire crews about a minute before the second truck could get water running from a hydrant.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

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local, elissa rivas

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