75-year-old woman, 12 cats dead after house fire in Sylmar

SYLMAR, SAN FERNANDO VALLEY (KABC) -- A 75-year-old woman and her 12 cats are dead after a house fire in Sylmar overnight.

The fire started just before 11 p.m. Monday in the 14400 block of Tyler Street, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Firefighters arrived and pulled the unresponsive woman from the burning single-story home. After over 20 minutes of attempting to save her, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The woman has not been identified.

Firefighters also found about one dozen dead cats. It's unclear how many cats died as a result of the fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but officials say they did not find any functional smoke alarms at the home.