THOMASVILLE, N.C. — A Thomasville woman died in a house fire Sunday afternoon.
Fire officials say she wasn't able to get out on her own because she was bedridden.
The charred trailer was once Shirley Cranford's home.
"It's sad for anyone to pass away, but especially a woman on Mother's Day, that makes it even worse," exclaimed Larry Johnson.
Johnson and his wife live down the street from where the fire happened.
Firefighters say the 68-year-old died Sunday afternoon in her trailer at Edgewood Mobile Home Park.
Johnson recalls watching emergency crews rush to the scene, "At first we heard a lot of cars go by, but I thought it was normal, but then I got up and looked because they kept coming one after the other, unmarked police cars with the lights on, police cars, fire department, sheriffs' trucks. So, it was like I told my wife jokingly are all the police in Thomasville heading that way?"
Johnson said they were getting ready to head to dinner when they saw officials responding. His wife went to get a closer look.
"She saw the fire department had the water hose hooked to the fire hydrant that was away from the road, that they went down, and they went down this road away from the fire department. So, it had to be a fire down there somewhere," he explained.
Firefighters say a neighbor tried to save Cranford, who was in her bed, but she died in the fire.
Johnson praises the neighbor who tried to save her.
"If something happened in my neighborhood, I'm gonna do all I can do to help because that's what we're supposed to help one another," said Johnson.
Firefighters say last they heard; the good neighbor was taken to the hospital to be evaluated.
The family was at the scene today but did not want to go on camera.
Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire.