WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Fire tore through a Wellesley home Friday night killing a woman who was legally blind, Fire Chief Kevin Rooney said.

Firefighters said the fire started in back of the home on 56 Halsey Avenue. The cause, according to Rooney, was a space heater being used in the family room.

Neighbors identified the victim as 55-year-old Carol Cauley. Cauley's husband and teenage daughter arrived home to find the house in flames and attempted unsuccessfully to rescue her.

"The woman has been ill and she just didn't have the mobility to get herself out," said neighbor Dennis Miller.

Cauley was the mother of three. She had been battling multiple sclerosis for close to a decade.

Firefighters found her by her wheelchair.

Her daughter was taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.