EL MIRAGE, Ariz. — One woman was found deceased after a house fire broke out near Cactus and Dysart roads in El Mirage early Friday morning.
El Mirage police officers were responding to an unrelated call on the 12900 block of West Paradise Drive at about 5:30 a.m. on Friday when an officer noticed flames emanating from a nearby house. The fire department responded and began working to extinguish the fire.
Officers forced the door to the home to open but were unable to go inside due to the amount of smoke and flames emanating from the home.
Once it was safe to enter the residence, firefighters conducted a search and found an elderly woman dead inside.
It is not yet known how the woman died nor how the fire started.
El Mirage police said officers and firefighters were called to the home again at 3:51 a.m. on Saturday due to another fire breaking out.
Officers started evacuating nearby homes as firefighters worked to put out the fire.
After the flames were extinguished, crews determined that it would not be safe enough to investigate the cause of the fire until after sunrise.
Once the sun rose, El Mirage Fire Department investigators went into the home to start their investigation.
El Mirage police said Saturday's fire was caused by hidden hotspots in the home and that neither Friday nor Saturday's fire appeared to have been intentionally set.
The department wants the public to know that there is no threat to their safety.
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