Woman Dies After Fire Tears Through Castro Valley Townhouse

A woman died Sunday morning after a fire ripped through a two-story townhouse in Castro Valley, fire officials said.

Heavy smoke and flames engulfed the second story of the home located in the 20000 block of San Miguel Avenue, which sits roughly 100 to 150 feet from a nearby firehouse, according to Ronnie Otis, a Battalion Chief for the Alameda County Fire Department.

"We opened the door and we could smell smoke," Otis said.

After pulling the victim from the fire, emergency responders performed CPR, but their efforts were unsuccessful, Otis said.

Neighbors said they heard screams from inside the home during the fire and some near the home tried their best to save the victim, even trying to extinguish the flames before firefighters arrived.

"The flames, they had to be 30 feet in the air," neighbor Bill Kruissink said.

The flames were knocked down in roughly 15 to 20 minutes, but the exact cause of the blaze has yet to be determined, Otis said.

A neighboring apartment was evacuated while firefighters doused the flames and other nearby residents were alerted to shelter in place, Otis said.

NBC Bay Area's Rick Boone contributed to this report.

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