NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — UPDATE: The Newport News Fire Department said a woman died in a house fire early Tuesday morning.
Firefighters responded to the house fire scene just after 4 a.m. on Waltham Lane. Teams originally responded to a carbon monoxide call to the house next door. While they were checking nearby homes for the source of the gas, firefighters discovered the fire and heard a fire alarm.
The fire department said the first floor of the home was filled with heavy smoke. After getting inside the home, firefighters say they found a woman unresponsive inside.
Officials pronounced her dead at the scene. She was identified as Mia Evans, 36, a U.S. Navy veteran who was working as a nurse in the area. Her dog also died during the fire.
Officials said the fire in Evans' home was the direct cause of that initial carbon monoxide alarm that got firefighters to the scene.
According to the fire department, the fire appeared to be an accident, originating in the kitchen.
Investigators believe that a smoke alarm alerted Evans to the fire, but she was unable to evacuate.
“It’s very heartbreaking to know that something like this has happened in this community,” said Levonia Harper, who lives in the Huntington Pointe community.
Flashing lights woke up several neighbors in the area after a fire broke out on Waltham Lane.
“I’m stunned because... I run throughout the neighborhood and there’s plenty of us who do that," Harper said. "Just to hear of this, coming out this morning, I was shocked.”
She said the area is relatively quiet aside from a woman who she always heard singing.
“I hope and pray that it wasn’t that lady but if it was, I just hope that she’s still singing where she is,” Harper said.
Harper said the subdivision is relatively new.
“It’s a very lively, vibrant community," she said. "It’s very transitional. You know you have a lot of people from the Air Force, from the Navy, Army that are here."
She said this tragedy will leave a painful mark on the community.
Officials said the Fire Marshal's Office is working to assist Evans' next of kin.
"The Newport News Fire Department is deeply saddened by the loss and expresses its deepest condolences to Ms. Evans’ family and friends," the fire department said in a news release.
The fire department encouraged people to have working smoke detectors in their homes, placed inside bedrooms, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home.
Newport News residents can get a free smoke detector by calling the smoke alarm hotline at 757-975-5454 or by visiting the city's website.