A woman is dead after an early morning house fire in Ripley, investigators said. It started just after 1 a.m. Wednesday at a home on Hamburg Street. The village of Ripley's Fire Chief Tony Pfeffer said neighbors heard lots of dogs barking and when they went outside to see what was going on, they saw their neighbor's house on fire and called 911. When crews arrived, the house was fully engulfed in flames and the body of an elderly woman was on the front porch. The fire was so intense that first responders couldn't reach the victim until after the blaze was under control. Investigators believe she was trying to escape when she collapsed on the front porch.