75-year-old woman killed in Elgin fire

A 75-year-old woman was killed in an overnight fire early Friday morning, Elgin fire officials said.

The woman was found by firefighters in the kitchen surrounded by heavy smoke at about 12:45 a.m. at in the 600 block of Prospect Street, said Elgin Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Michaels.

Family members identified the woman as Josephine Guerra and said she was supposed to leave Monday to join her husband in Texas, where he is in a hospital on dialysis. Guerra's niece Nikkole Bennett declined to talk more about her aunt, saying she needed more time to collect her thoughts.

Michaels said the fire department was called to the scene at 12:39 a.m. after police officers noticed the fire.

Firefighters saw heavy smoke showing from the eaves and billowing out the front door when they arrived, Michaels said.

He added police officers kicked the door open to try and get anyone inside out, but heavy smoke pushed them back outside.

Firefighters found Guerra on the kitchen floor during a search of the home, Michaels said. She was rushed from the scene to Sherman Hospital, where she died a short time later.

Michaels said the fire was contained to a bedroom on the north side of the home, though the fire did spread to the ceiling and the attic area.

“But there was heavy smoke throughout the home when we arrived,” he said.

Michaels said a smoke detector was discovered in the home, but it's unclear at this time if the smoke detector was operational when the fire struck.

He said firefighters remained on the scene until 2:45 a.m. investigating the cause of the blaze. He said further investigation would be done today with assistance from the Elgin Police Department.