A woman has died and another has been taken to hospital after a fire broke out at a house in Stokenchurch yesterday.

Two fire crews from High Wycombe raced to the property in Springfield Road at 4.48pm after a blaze broke out in one of the bedrooms.

One hose reel, four sets of breathing apparatus and a positive pressure ventilation fan were used to bring the fire under control quickly, but a woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another woman was taken to Stoke Mandeville hospital suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation and she is now in a stable condition.

One resident, who lives a few doors down, believed it was an elderly lady who had died.

She said: “She lived there with her daughter. It’s such an awful thing to have happened. I used to see the elderly lady around every now and then. It’s so shocking and so very sad. The fire brigade have been round this morning fitting every house with smoke alarms. It’s just a terrible situation.”

Group Commander Mick Martin from Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service said that the house had a smoke alarm, which was sounding when the fire crews arrived at the scene.

He said: "Sadly, it was apparent that the female adult found in the bedroom had died. Our thoughts are with her family and friends, and the local community.

"A second female adult had left the property suffering the effects of serious smoke inhalation. She was assisted by firefighters and South Central Ambulance Service staff before being taken to hospital.”

The house was cordoned off, and Thames Valley Police were called to the scene.

A joint investigation involving police officers and the fire service has been launched into the cause of the fire, but at this stage the cause of the fire is not being treated as suspicious.