UPDATED: 3:35 p.m.
A relative had done yard work at the home and burned some of the waste in a drum. It somehow re-ignited overnight.
Neighbors who rushed outside say the fire grew fast.
"The shed in the back was gone in a matter of seconds. The whole house was just ... I've never ever seen a fire like that in my life," said Katie, who lives nearby.
"At that point, firefighters were backing out of there. It was just so intense," said neighbor Brian Reid.
West Deptford Police Chief Sean McKenna said officers, who were the first on scene, saw the flames and trees on fire on their way to the home.
"It was completely engulfed in fire. It's a real sad feeling when you know you cannot get inside the house," he said.
McKenna says there was only one person inside at the time, Jacqueline Truss, 75, who was discovered in the kitchen area in the back of the house.
He said her death hits his colleagues hard. Jacqueline had been married to George Truss, a 25-year veteran of the West Deptford Police Department, who died in 2015.
Officials say one firefighter needed treatment for minor smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire is under investigation.