A community was struck by tragedy on Christmas morning, and is now trying to figure out how a neighbor died in a fire inside her home.
Early Christmas morning, a few hours before the sun came up, flames were shooting out of the upstairs bedroom window of a Centreville townhome as firefighters arrived.
According to 911 dispatch audio, one of the occupants of that townhome was still inside on the second floor.
By the time Fairfax County firefighters could get inside and upstairs, the woman inside had died.
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The red sign on the door on Tuesday marked the burned home a hazard. The bouquet on the front steps marked it as the site of a tragedy.
Now, neighbors like Cecelia Abrego and her young grandson Leo are left to try and make sense of what happened.
"I hope the firefighters took her to the hospital," Leo said to News4.
"No, baby," Cecelia said. "She went to heaven now."
Cecelia told News4 that, as the fire burned right next door in the early morning hours, she didn't even wake up.
Many people in the community that News4 spoke with didn’t hear the fire, and didn’t even know about it until we told them on Tuesday.
Neighbors don’t know much about the woman in her 50’s who lived in the townhome.
Cecilia told News4 some relatives had lived with the woman earlier this year, but moved out months ago. In recent months, she’d seen the woman struggling to get around.
Crutches can be through a bedroom window – though it’s not known if that caused any problems getting out during the fire."
"She was a nice lady - really nice," Cecilia said. "She love him [Leo], and me, all the time."
Firefighters did check Cecilia’s home for any evidence the fire spread, but it had not. The fire department hasn’t said what caused the fire, and hasn't released the woman’s name.
News 4 contacted a man we believe to be her son. There was no call back.
