PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — One person died and another person was injured after a large fire at a historic home on Court Street Tuesday morning, Portsmouth fire officials said.

Fire crews said the cause of the fire was accidental in nature and likely due to an electrical malfunction.

According to officials, crews were dispatched to the 300 block of Court Street just before 6 a.m. for a fire with occupants possibly still inside. That’s in the Olde Towne Historic District.

When crews arrived, they saw flames and heavy smoke coming from a two-story house. Officials said 12 fire units, medical personnel and police responded to the scene.

10 On Your Side’s Michael Rinker was at the scene Tuesday morning, where he saw flames coming from the side of the home. The fire continued to grow while he was at the scene, spreading to other areas of the home. When he first arrived on scene, flames were only visible from the roof, but the home quickly became engulfed in flames. The flames blew out all of the windows, Rinker reported.

Rinker said firefighters worked hard to contain the fire to the home. There are other homes very close to it, and lots of trees in the area.

“We are very grateful for the Portsmouth Fire Department,” said one neighbor. “They got here instantaneously, woke everybody up with all the fire trucks coming so close.”

Another resident shared video of crews working to contain the fire to the home.

During the active fire, Portsmouth Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Shawn Teartt told WAVY on scene that there were no reported injuries to residents or firefighters at that time, but it was later reported that one person, later identified as 65-year-old Danielle Erikamary Bielenstein, was found dead inside of the home and that another resident of the home suffered injuries as a result of the fire.

Crews said the individual injured as a result of the fire is in “critical but non-life-threatening injuries.”

A photo from WAVY’s Tower Cam 10 shows the flames and black smoke visible from far away, highlighting the extent of the fire. Many WAVY viewers reported seeing the smoke and flames during their morning drive Tuesday.

One WAVY viewer, Maria Kaine, was in her boat on the Elizabeth River, when she saw the orange plumes of fire filling the sky at sunrise.

“It was towering, Kaine said. “And just from that half mile away, we thought the whole block was up in flames by the amount of smoke and fire that we saw.”

Several hours after the fire, WAVY 10 captured drone footage showing smoke still filling the air.

Nearby residents said two sisters lived in the historic house and that the house, built in 1813 according to Portsmouth tax records, was owned by the same family for around five generations, with historical documents, even possibly dating back to James Madison, being stored in the attic of the home.

Neighbors called the historic home “The Maupin House.” One neighbor who grew up with the family impacted by the fire, Melissa Pittman, said thousands of old books were inside the home, along with countless pieces of history, including letters from some of our first presidents.

“They were huge historians, and there was a lot of history that they kept in there,” Pittman said.

The family held many gatherings within the Maupin House.

“Everybody was welcome,” Pittman said. “It was open to where everybody was welcome. It didn’t matter who you are, rich or poor, anywhere in between. It didn’t matter. There was obviously, there was money in that family, but you could not feel that.”

Nearly everyone in this Olde Towne neighborhood told 10 On Your Side’s Nick Broadway they know the family impacted by the fire, with Pittman saying she grew up with Bielinstein, the person who died.

“My best friend from the time I was five or six years old,” Pittman said. “We grew up in this house.”

Fire crews said the cause of the fire was accidental in nature and likely due to an electrical malfunction.