One dead after early morning fire guts townhouse complex in Winfield

One person is dead and four others were rescued from an early morning fire at a Winfield townhouse complex Friday.

One person is dead and several others were rescued from a Winfield townhouse complex that was gutted by an early morning fire.

Five people were rescued by firefighters after they were called to the complex on the 0N100 block of Windermere Road just after 4 a.m. Friday.

One of the rescued residents, an 81-year-old woman, was transported to a hospital where she later died from injuries sustained in the fire, authorities said.

An autopsy is slated for Saturday.

All eight units in the building were deemed uninhabitable.

Firefighters were on scene for more than four hours checking for hot spots and performing salvage operations.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Images from the aftermath of the blaze show about half the roof missing and the rear of at least two units mostly left charred.

Jake Griffin Daily Herald Media Group

Jake Griffin is the assistant managing editor for watchdog reporting at the Daily Herald