Woman in her 90s rescued from Berkeley Hills house fire

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- A woman living along Alvarado Road in the Berkeley Hills had to be rescued from her burning home on Wednesday morning.

The fire response was a coordinated effort by the Berkeley and Oakland Fire Departments. Both received calls shortly after 6 a.m. regarding a structure fire and possible rescue in an area where the two cities border each other. The home involved is located in Berkeley.

Keith May with Berkeley Fire describes the rescue effort: "About 40 feet from where they made entry, behind the closed door into another room, they found the victim which they brought out quickly."

PG&E also responded to the scene.

May explained, "If there's a fire around electrical lines, that's not a good thing. So they come in and help shut the lines down and secure the building."

Concerned neighbors like John McBride tells ABC7 News the victim is a long-time resident named Barbara. McBride says Barbara is in her 90s and lives alone.

"I think I saw Barbara maybe two days ago," he says.

After being rescued, the woman was taken to the hospital. May wasn't able to elaborate the victim's condition. Any fire damage to the woman's home was difficult to see from the road.

"Most of the fire was contained to two rooms," May says. "Then some smoke damage into maybe two other rooms."

May says it's too early to determine whether the victim will be able to return home after recovering.

McBride and other neighbors say they are focused on the victim's recovery, and understand the dangers with living along Alvarado Road.

"These are older homes," McBride adds. "They're susceptible to fire because of the age."

Fire investigators are still working to uncover the cause of the fire.