AN elderly woman died after fire broke out in a bedroom at her home.

The 5am blaze was so intense that a firefighter's helmet melted. Four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus forced their way into the smoke filled house in Shaws Avenue, Orford, Warrington, and found the woman collapsed upstairs.

Despite desperate attempts to revive her, she was found to be dead on arrival at hospital. The cause of the blaze is being investigated.

A fire service spokesman said it was unusual for a firefighter's helmet to melt but it did its job as the man was not harmed. No working smoke detectors were fitted in the house.