Woman, 71, dies in DeKalb County house fire

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A 71-year-old woman died after her house caught fire early Friday morning. 

DeKalb County firefighters responded to the fire on Hillmont Avenue around 3:30 a.m. after a neighbor said she woke up and smelled smoke. 

Joan Gage said she looked outside and saw smoke pouring from the victim's home. That's when she called 911 and started pounding on her neighbor's door. 

Witnesses told FOX 5 the woman who was killed in the fire had been living alone after her husband passed away earlier this year. 

Firefighters are working to determine what sparked the fire.