A woman was found dead in a Richford home that was badly damaged in a fire early Wednesday morning, according to Vermont State Police.

The Richford Fire Department responded to the fire, which fully engulfed the home on Union Street, at around 4:15 a.m., according to a police press release. 

Firefighters extinguished the blaze, state police said, but learned at the scene that the buildingโ€™s occupant had not been accounted for. State fire investigators later searched the home and found a woman dead in the living room on the first floor, police said.

Police said the womanโ€™s remains were sent to the chief medical examiner’s office in Burlington to confirm the womanโ€™s identity and cause of death. 

The fire does not appear to have been started intentionally, police said, though an investigation is ongoing.

โ€œThe extensive amount of damage limited the investigators in their ability to determine the origin and cause of the fire event,โ€ a state police press release stated.

VTDigger's state government and politics reporter.