BRIDGEPORT — An East Side fire that claimed the life of a 70-year-old woman remained under investigation Thursday.

Willie Mae Goodwin died when a fire swept through her home at 200 Putnam St. at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Provisional Assistant Fire Chief William Haug said the fire broke out in a rear bedroom on the home's first floor. Goodwin, the only occupant of the first floor, was apparently trapped in her apartment and found lying on her bedroom floor.

The cause of death had not been determined late Thursday.

Haug said the woman's 30-year-old son, William, who lived on the second floor of the two-story building, escaped from a front window, jumping from a porch roof to the street. He then ran down the street to a nearby fire station to report the blaze.

The fire spread through the home's second floor and burned through the right side of the building, leaping over to the vacant three-story house next door. The third floor of that building, which was under renovation, suffered heavy damage, fire officials said.

A neighbor, who declined to be identified, said William Goodwin knocked on his door seeking help after the fire started.

"The fire was well on its way," the neighbor said. "If she was in there for more than 10 minutes, there's no way she would have survived."

Renovation work on the two-family house at 196-198 Putnam St., adjacent to the Goodwins' residence, was completed before the fire damage, general contractor Steve Acampora said.

Acampora, who had worked with his crew at the house for four or five months, said Willie Mae Goodwin was a friendly woman.

"She was very nice," he said. "Very cordial."

Leon Alvarez of nearby Kossuth Street said he saw Willie Mae Goodwin in the neighborhood more often than her son.

"She was a regular around the neighborhood," he said. "You'd see her walking around."

He said he learned about the fire Thursday.

"That's a shame," he said of the woman's death.

The Goodwins were often seen at the Iglesia Pentecostal La Pena de Horeb church across the street, Alvarez said. No one at the church was available for comment Thursday.

Acampora detailed the damages to the home under renovation, owned by A&B Investments. The roof and third floors suffered heat and fire damage, while the recently installed aluminum siding melted. The first floor had water damage, he said.

Staff writer Vin Moran contributed to this report.