CARBONDALE (AP) - A space heater is believed to have started a predawn fire that claimed the life of a woman in northeastern Pennsylvania, authorities said.

Fire crews in Lackawanna County responded to the Carbondale home shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday and reported heavy flames coming from the building.

Coroner Tim Rowland said Rose Marie Boyles, 58, was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials said her son and his family were able to escape from the neighboring duplex.

State police and Carbondale officials sad the fire was ruled accidental and is believed to have started from a first-floor space heater.

Donna Parsons, who was soon to be Boyles’ daughter-in-law, told The (Scranton) Times-Tribune that a neighbor banged on her window to warn them to get out. She said they tried the front door but found a wall of flames before making their retreat out the back.

Parsons described Boyles as the type of person who would “give you the shirt off her back” and who regularly dropped by with new toys for her children. She said the loss has left the family “just numb.