A neighbor braved raging flames to pull a critically burned woman to safety as fire raced through her tiny South Attleboro cottage Thursday afternoon.
The victim, Andrea Weeks, suffered severe burns on her face and other parts of her body. She was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, where she was listed Friday morning in critical condition.
The woman was the only one who lived in the house, and had lived there for years.
The blaze erupted about 2:10 p.m. at 36 C Redgate Road, one of three homes located on a single parcel at the end of Redgate, a cul-de-sac off busy Robinson Avenue in South Attleboro.
The neighbor, who did not want to be identified, but who lives a couple of houses away from Weeks and had returned home moments before, noticed the smoke and found Weeks badly burned just outside the doorway of the engulfed building.
She dragged her about 100 feet and was then assisted by another neighbor, Elsie Lombardi of 36 Redgate, who carried the victim to safety and awaited rescue personnel.
"They did a good job," Deputy Fire Chief Tim Birch said.