CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - Officials have identified the elderly woman who died after going into cardiac arrest following a Cambridge house fire Wednesday.
Blanca Colannino, 77, was found unconscious and in cardiac arrest on the second floor of her burning home after neighbors reported seeing flames coming out of her Buckingham St. around 5:30 a.m, according to a Cambridge fire official.
She was taken to a local hospital where she later died.
Investigators determined the fire started in a second-floor bedroom where an electric blanket was found on the floor, plugged in. An extension cord was plugged into a wall air conditioner and authorities believe that a malfunction of the blanket, the extension cord or the outlet are possible causes of the fire.
Colannino also had candles burning in the room often.
Though the cause of the fire is officially undetermined, it is considered to be accidental, according to a joint release issued by local and state fire authorities and Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan.
Three firefighters were also hospitalized, including one with a leg injury and another with a shoulder injury.
The third injured firefighter was hurt when a ceiling in the house collapsed, the fire official said.
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