Belleville's fire chief is urging caution after Thursday's fatal fire and five other structure fires this year.
The fire at a home on William Street, near Queen Street in the East Hill, was reported at about 5:30 a.m.
Emergency crews learned people were possibly still inside the building, city police reported.
Firefighters removed one person from the home; two others escaped on their own.
Hastings- Quinte paramedics took two 72-year-old women to hospital.
Police stated the woman removed by firefighters later died in hospital. The second woman sustained serious injuries, while the third person did not sustain physical injuries.
The fire's cause remained under investigation by city fire prevention staff and Ontario's Office of the Fire Marshal with help from police.
In a later news release, Fire Chief Dan Smith stated the fire was the sixth structure fire of 2026 and the service's 343rd emergency response.
Emergency services had worked “in extreme conditions” in responding to those emergencies, Smith added.
“Unfortunately, there has been no identifiable trend” in the causes of the fires, Smith said. Investigations showed varying causes.
Statistics from the Ontario fire marshal's office show 70 per cent of fires happen in homes. Among the three most common causes, 16 per cent are due to cooking, nine per cent are electrical, and eight per cent result from cigarettes.
“To that end, our fire service cannot stress enough the importance of working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms installed on every level of the home, including outside of sleeping areas,” Smith stated.
“We urge every member of your family to plan their escape, know the meeting location and understand the importance of `once you are out, stay out' until emergency services can verify it is safe to return home.”