SIKESTON, Mo. -- A 56-year-old woman is dead after a Wednesday morning house fire in Sikeston.

According to a news release from Capt. Jim McMillen of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety, at about 5:20 a.m., police responded to a house fire at 224 Hardin St. McMillen said there was a report of a still-burning fire inside the home and a neighbor believed the occupant, Debra Barnes, had not made it out. The officers forced open a door but were unable to enter because of extreme heat and smoke, and they resorted to breaking a window to get inside. Barnes was pulled away from the smoke and out the window. Emergency responders tried to revive her. She was taken by ambulance to Missouri Delta Medical Center, and was pronounced dead at 6:19 a.m., McMillen said.

Fire crews extinguished the fire, and the Missouri State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating its cause, McMillen said.

Pertinent address:

224 Hardin St., Sikeston, Mo.