An overnight house fire in Warren County has taken the life of the 72 year old woman who lived there.

Fire investigators say the extreme hoarding conditions inside the home on Locust Dale Road made it nearly impossible to fight it. In fact, they say, there was a lot of combustible stuff inside that helped spread the fire quickly.

Pauline Hockett's neighbors says they are devastated by what happened.

"She was very private, but we had good times together," said Dixie Engelhaupt. She has known Pauline for five years and says she had just spoken to her a few days ago.

"She called me and she was feeling real good cause she had just had a load of fire wood delivered," said Dixie.

Firefighters put out the house fire twice because it reignited. Fire chief Richard Mabie sent out this memo to neighbors...

"While this unfortunate incident is currently under investigation as an accidental fire, the exact cause is yet to be determined."

Some neighbors say they didn't know what was going on. When they drove by and saw smoke in the air, they thought someone's chimney was lit, to stay warm in this cold weather.

Dixie says she got a call from her pastor around 2:00 a.m. about the fire and was devastated to hear the news.

"This is so tragic how this happened," she said.

Neighbors say Pauline was apart of the homeowners association because she cared so much about her neighborhood.

Everyone says the 72-year old was so full of life and Dixie hates the fact that her friend's life was taken.

"It's just too sad to talk about anymore right now," said Dixie.

Warren County's Fire and Rescue department says most people die in home fires from burns and breathing deadly gases, such as carbon monoxide. The department says testing and maintaining your smoke alarms is key to practicing fire safety.