Fire kills woman in New Bedford

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A woman was killed Thursday night when a two-alarm fire swept through a triple-decker in a New Bedford.

The woman lived in a first floor apartment, where the flames apparently started, according to New Bedford Fire Captain Scott Kruger. Firefighters responded to the blaze at 363 Coggeshall St. at 9:47 p.m. and faced several challenges.

"There was a large fire up the entire front of the building, the home next door was a few feet away, and there was a report that there was someone inside the building," Kruger said. "All of those things, you have to take care of within a couple of minutes."

Firefighters found the woman on the first floor and she was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford, where she was pronounced dead. Her name and age are being withheld pending notification of her next of kin.

The blaze caused extensive damage the triple-decker, leaving eight people homeless. The Red Cross came to the aid of the displaced families. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Kruger said.