Woman dead in N. Philadelphia house fire

An elderly woman was found dead after an early-morning house fire Wednesday in North Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Fire Department said crews were called to the blaze at the home on the 2600 block of West Thompson Street just before 6:50 a.m.

The blaze, which officials said broke out on the first floor of the home, was extinguished quickly and declared under control at 7:04 a.m.

Someone was reported to be trapped inside, and when firefighters searched the home, they found an older adult woman deceased on the first floor, Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer told reporters.

The home didn't have any working smoke alarms, he said. The only detector in the residence was in the basement, he said, and wasn't operable.

"The message here is to have one working smoke alarm on every single level," the commissioner said.

The woman wasn't immediately identified.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Wednesday afternoon.

There have now been seven fatal fires in Philadelphia so far in 2015. The fire department said the city had recorded 14 deadly blazes by this time last year.