Norfolk woman found dead after Boxing day horror house fire
27 December 2024, 12:26
The body of a woman has been found after a house fire in Old Catton, on the outskirts of Norwich, police said.
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Police and fire crews were called to a property on Carterford Drive at 4.22 am on Thursday, but they were too late to save a woman who died in the house fire.
The woman has not been formally identified, but has been locally named as Susan Woods, a retired teacher.
Her next of kin have been informed and the fire has been extinguished, Norfolk Constabulary said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and enquiries are ongoing.
A cordon will remain in place at the scene for some time, police said.
As the sun came up, the extent of the fire became clearer, with large parts of the roof of the house missing because of the fire.
A 46-year-old man, who did not want to be named, lives a few doors down and told the Eastern Daily Press he had gone to bed after celebrating Christmas Day, but woke up some hours later as the "lights" of fire engines that had come to tackle the blaze arrived.
He said he knew the woman who lived at the property as Susan, a retired school teacher in her 70s.
He described her as a “lovely person” and a “very intelligent lady” who spoke several languages, and said she was “in and out of hospital”.
The man said he was "hoping she was not home" as the fire raged and had maybe "been with relatives for Christmas".
He said he would "see her every now and again" and said they were on "good terms", exchanging Christmas cards just a few days before.
The man was "thankful" for the efforts of the fire brigade who managed to stop the fire from spreading to the surrounding houses.
In a post on X, Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service said their thoughts were with the family and friends of the victim and thanked their staff and emergency services colleagues for their work during the "difficult incident".
Fire crews from Earlham, Wroxham, Aylsham, Hethersett, Acle, Long Stratton, Wymondham, Sprowston, Stalham, and Great Yarmouth attended the incident, along with the Urban Search and Rescue team from Dereham, the fire service said in a post on Facebook.
A cordon remains in place as emergency services investigate the cause of the fire.
