A 2-alarm fire devastated a McLean, Virginia, home Saturday, killing an elderly woman who had been missing for hours.
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department said firefighters were called to the house on the 1400 block of Brookhaven Drive in McLean to put out the flames, but called for backup upon arriving.
During the firefight, fire officials said one person was unaccounted for and later reported the person had died.
Neighbors told News4 that an elderly woman lived in the home and was possibly a hoarder.
Firefighters from a collection of other Northern Virginia agencies responded as well, including from Dunn Loring, Alexandria and Vienna.
Neighbors also reported hearing an explosion while the fire consumed the home.
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"It was like when you are at a concert and your heart just pounds, that's what it sounded like," Charlie Stallmer, a neighbor, said. "It was just a ton of smoke rising up, black smoke, all the way to the sky. It was crazy."
The local power company, Dominion Energy, also shut off power during the response.
The fire department said an autopsy is pending and an investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
