An early morning fire resulted in the death of an elderly woman and sent two Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies to the hospital.

According to Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Charlie Rose, first responders were notified of fire at around 4 a.m., through an ADT fire and burglar call. Rose said when the two deputies arrived at the home of Patricia Johnson, at N.C. Highway 32, near the intersection of Terrapin Track Road, one of Johnson’s famly member was inside the burning house looking for her. Deputies got that person out and went back in to find Jordan.

Rose said the deputies could hear the elderly woman inside, “but they couldn’t get into the house deep enough to locate her.”

Bunyan, Pinetown and Bath volunteer fire departments responded to the scene, along with Board Creek, Pinetown and Beaufort County EMS squads, according to Bunyan volunteer Wes Williams. When they arrived, the fire in the one-story, doublewide home was fully involved, Rose said. It wasn’t until hours later that firefighters were able to find Jordan, he said.

Both deputies were hospitalized for smoke inhalation. Rose said one had some burning in his airways, but both were treated and released from the hospital.

Investigators with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations are working with local investigators to determine how the fire started, though initial findings indicate the fire started somewhere in the back of the residence where the kitchen was located, Rose said.

“There’s nothing that appears at this time that there was anything criminal involved with the fire itself. Everything appears that it was an accidental fire,” Rose said.