PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A woman is dead and two children are in critical condition after a house fire in Portsmouth.

On Friday around 9:45 p.m., crews were called to the 20 block of Neville Street for the report a house fire with people trapped inside.

They arrived on the scene to find a one-story duplex on fire. Two adults and one child escaped the fire by climbing out of a window. Fire crews were able to rescue a woman and two children who were trapped inside the home. However, the fire claimed the life of one woman, despite the fire crews efforts.

Though firefighters have yet to release the name of the woman who died, multiple neighbors tell 10 On Your Side she was the mother of the two children taken to the hospital. Those neighbors are still coming to grips with the news. A woman who has lived across the street, not comfortable with going on camera, told us she is heartbroken.

“She was a very nice young girl,” the woman said. “She didn’t give no problems. She always loved, and she always loved me. She had two kids, a little boy and a little girl. She took very good care of them. I didn’t ever see her mistreat them or nothing. They were really smart kids.”

Much of the damage is visible on the right side of the multi-unit home along Neville Street. Through the window frames, a charred mess inside, with much of the home ripped apart by the fire. Family members who were there Saturday morning told 10 On Your Side that they were just not ready to talk about it.

“They were a nice family, to me,” Marie Brown said. “I would see them with family cookouts when I visit my sister, the kids were out on their bikes and all, you know, regular things that families do.”

Three adults and three children were transported to local hospitals. Officials said the two children were in critical condition.

The duplex is uninhabitable, and the Red Cross was contacted to assist the displaced occupants.

Portsmouth Fire Rescue & ES fire Marshals are investigating the cause of the fire.