RICHMOND, Va. -- The 71-year-old woman pulled from a house fire in the 3100 block of Windsorview Dr. in Richmond has died. It is unclear from officials at this time if she was dead at the scene or if she passed away from her injuries at the hospital.
Fire officials said that they "conducted a rescue attempt." The cause of death is expected from the Medical Examiner soon.
The family of Elvira Mashore visited the home Wednesday morning. They brought flowers and grappled with their loss.
“We was praying nothing was wrong,” a neighbor said.
Richmond Fire received a call for a house fire at around 9:09 p.m. Tuesday. Neighbors alerted arriving fire crews that Elvira was inside the house; she had just had a surgery, they said.
Crews located her in lying down in the hallway, a neighbor said. She was removed from the house, and emergency crews began medical treatment in the front yard. She was then rushed to the hospital.
Flames were seen shooting through the roof – a neighbor said 10 to 15 feet high.
Crew battled the fire for almost an hour. The fire was marked under control at 9:44 p.m.
Smoke alarms were present in the home and were actively alerting, fire officials said. The preliminary cause of the fire is believed to be cooking related. .