HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — A woman is in the hospital in stable, but critical condition after her home caught fire in Hampton this morning.

A neighbor who lives on Cornelius Drive saw the flames while she was driving past the house. She quickly got out of the car, knocked on the neighbors’ doors, and while they waited for the Hampton Division of Fire and Rescue, they used their gardening hoses to try to extinguish the fire, which spread through a window and into the attic. 

“I was sad because her son was there to see his mom being taken out like that,” said neighbor Valerie Bell. 

Bell awoke to her dog barking and walked out to see smoke and fire across the street. 

“I came to see what was going on,” Bell said. “That’s when I [saw] the flashing lights and I [saw] the fire coming through the roof.”

The Hampton Division and Fire Rescue wrote in a statement the fire was contained to one room in the house and part of the attic. 

Bell said seeing how quickly fire can destroy houses is scary. 

“Close up like that, it’s bothersome,” Bell said. 

A woman was found unconscious and suffering from a medical condition, and firefighters had to work fast. 

“They got there pretty early,” Bell said. “The young people stayed over here and was knocking on the door, trying to get her, but I guess she was unconscious.” 

One neighbor alerted her son, who was not home at the time. 

“Quite a few was crying,” Bell said. “You know, just to see him was nerve-wracking. It struck a chord. Even though I don’t know him personally, I felt for him. You know, that was his mom.”

The woman who knocked on the doors and alerted everyone told 10 On Your Side she just wanted to save a life. 

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.