Elderly Woman Dies in Florida Fire

Firefighters found a Lauderhill woman dead in a bedroom early Sunday morning after a fire that police are calling suspicious gutted her apartment.

Firefighters discovered the body of Rhoda Morris, 73, after they extinguished the 7 a.m. blaze in Morris' apartment at International Village, a three-story complex in the 3700 block of Inverrary Drive.

Morris was the only person in the apartment. No other injuries were reported.

Lauderhill Fire-Rescue Lt. Robert Aziere said all residents were evacuated from the building's 100 apartments. ''The fire was contained to a bedroom where we found the victim,'' he said.

Investigators were working to find the cause of the blaze. They had not yet determined Morris' cause of death.

Morris' body was taken to the Broward Medical Examiner's Office, where an autopsy will be performed.

Distributed by the Associated Press