A Niles woman is dead after a house fire Sunday morning in Niles Charter Township.

Chief Gary Brovold, of the Niles Township Fire Department, said the victim is 82-year-old Mary Ann Brothers.

Firefighters were dispatched to a structure fire at 2407 Bond St. just after 7 a.m. Sunday morning.

Brovold said Brothers, who reported the fire by calling 911, was already deceased by the time Berrien County Sheriff’s Department deputies located her inside the home.

Brovold said it has been several years since the township has had a fatal fire.

It is the first time he can remember, he said, that the victim was the one who reported the fire.

Although the fire remains under investigation, Brovold said it appears that it began in the area of a wood-burning stove in the home.

A state fire marshal has ruled the fire accidental, he said.

Brovold said firefighters were on scene within three to four minutes of being dispatched and that deputies located Brothers quickly.

Two cats also died in the fire.

Brovold is reminding residents to have their chimneys and furnaces inspected on an annual basis and to make sure that smoke detectors are working.