A FIREFIGHTER has told how a woman died after she struggled to escape from a fire in her home.

Six fire engines were called to Kibble Close, in Didcot, at around 2am yesterday after fire broke out inside a first floor flat.

Incident Commander Mick Pilcher said a woman in her mid-40s was found unconscious when firefighters got in.

He said: “It looked like she had tried to escape, we found her on the floor by the door of the flat, she had nearly got out.”

Fire fighters administered first aid, but she died at the scene.

However, the crews managed to rescue four neighbours and bought the blaze under control in about two hours.

Eight other residents were treated for smoke inhalation by paramedics.

It is thought the fire may have been caused by cigarette, but an investigation was under way last night.

A neighbour, who did not want to be named, woke up to sounds of banging and screaming.

He and two other residents tried to break down the door before the fire service arrived.

Mr Pilcher said the flat was packed with household items which made it difficult for the woman to escape.

He said: “There were lots of personal possessions. There were tumble dryers in the hallway and things you would not normally expect to see in the hallway or by the front door.

“I do not think she had lived there very long.

“Because of the furniture in the bedroom it produced lots of thick black smoke, it was old furniture and that made it very difficult to find our way around.”

Mr Pilcher said the fire was contained in the bedroom, but the quantity of smoke had made the passage impassable.

He added: “There could have been five fatalities if we had allowed it to develop further.”

Police are not treating the fire as suspicious. There was a working smoke alarm in the flat.

Graham Swingewood, 50, of Fleet Way, was woken by the incident. He said: “We could see the flames fully coming out of a single window. It was really quite bad and quite scary.

“There was a lot of smoke coming out of that little window. We assumed the fire had taken control of the whole of the upstairs building.”

Lisa Morris, from South Oxfordshire Housing Association, said: “Our thoughts and sympathy goes to the tenant’s friends and family.”