One dead in Almonte, Ont. house fire

Not far from Almonte's historic downtown, a shell of a home is what's left on Mary Street following a house fire Thursday night.

Emergency crews were called to 56 Mary Street around 9:15 p.m. Thursday for a home fully engulfed in flames.

Police say 52-year-old Laura Leigh Ladouceur of Almonte died in the fire, along with two dogs.

"During the course of putting the fire out they discovered a female victim and unfortunately she was transported to hospital but later pronounced deceased," James Gillespie, a fire investigator with the Office of the Fire Marshal, told CTV News Ottawa.

"From my understanding there were three people that lived there but two of them weren't home at the time of the fire."

Neighbour Josh Dolan said he was in his garage studio at the time when his wife alerted him to the fire.

"We immediately went out to the driveway and saw the flames," Dolan said. "The fire trucks had already arrived by the time I got outside and they had the flames under control very quickly. But then they were fighting the smoke and the rest of it probably until midnight."

Neighbours remember Ladouceur as a courteous neighbour, one who was a delight to run into on the street, and an owner who cared deeply about her pets.

"We've been friendly with them," says Dolan. "We've been here about 10 years now; they've been here about five or six. So, acquaintances yeah, said hi, I was friendly with them."

"It's very, very unsettling," says the Almonte resident, remembering another intense house fire that was visible from his house across the river about two years ago.

"I was pretty shaken last night and again this morning when I heard the news of the fatality. I mean, I was very close to where the actual fire was burning, so."

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire.