Two women died Monday after an early-morning fire destroyed a house in Providence.
Fire crews found the bodies of Marie Calderon, 44, and Marta Romerto, 50, on the third floor of the building. The cause of death for both women has not yet been determined.
Officials said the multifamily house at 25 Camden Ave. was fully involved when crews arrived at about 2:45 a.m. Officials said the fire was so intense that it wasn't safe for firefighters to enter the building.
"There was no way for firefighters to make entry when they arrived on the scene. After we achieved knockdown, companies went in, did a search of the building where unfortunately, we found two fatalities on the third floor," said Assistant Fire Chief Michael Dillon of the Providence Fire Department.
The women were found near the rear stairwell of the building.
Eric Calderon and Sandra Solder, Marie Calderon's son and daughter, lived across the street. Eric Calderon said he watched the house burn.
"Basically watching your mom die in front of you," he said.
When they didn't see their mother come out, they knew it wasn't good.
"The whole entire house was in flames and I couldn't do anything," he said. "I feel like I couldn't help her."
"She was a wonderful person and very caring. For someone to burn, to die in a fire, that's not right. And I'm going to miss her," Solder said.
Fire officials said the fire appeared to start on the first floor and spread throughout the building.
Investigators said they didn't find any working smoke detectors in the home, but also said that they could have been destroyed by the intense heat of the fire.
Investigators said there were no obvious signs of arson, but with two lives lost they aren't ruling anything out.
Fire officials said the home was in foreclosure, and neighbors said the first and second-floor apartments were vacant.
Several dogs also died in the fire. Neighbors told NBC 10 the second-floor tenants recently moved out but were coming back occasionally to feed the dogs.
Crews demolished the house for safety reasons late Monday afternoon.
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