Elderly woman dies in Fairhaven fire

FAIRHAVEN, Mass. (WPRI) -- An elderly woman was killed after a fire broke out in her Fairhaven home Thursday morning.

When firefighters arrived to the Mill Road residence at about 10:30 a.m., they found the 84-year-old woman unresponsive. She was taken to Saint Luke's Hospital, where she was declared deceased.

The woman has been identified as Barbara Wilbur. We've learned she lived at the home with relatives, who were not home when the fire started.

"It looks like she may have tried to fight the fire, put it out and then she tried to make her way to the back door, at least that's what we are able to piece together right now," Said Wayne Oliveira of the Fairhaven Fire Department.

We're told a cat also perished in the fire.

According to officials, the fire started in the kitchen area and is considered to be accidental.

State police and the fire marshal's office are now investigating the exact cause of the fire.