Two fire engines and 14 firefighters and officers were called to a house fire on Birchanger Road in South Norwood this afternoon.
The fire damaged part of the ground floor and the staircase between the ground and first floors. Crews rescued a woman from the ground floor of the detached property but sadly she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Brigade was called at 1501 and the fire was under control at 1610. Crews from Beckenham and West Norwood fire stations attended the incident.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.