Newton Fire Dept. Confirms One Dead in Early Morning Blaze

Updated 4:15 p.m.

According to Captain Mark Heitman, took one the life of victim as it tore through the second story of the 140-year-old home.

Beth Deare was the confirmed fatality, but the department could not give an exact age. 

According to Deare's LinkedIn page, she was an associate professor at Bunker Hill Community College. She taught communication studies and special interest communications out of the Charlestown campus, according to BHCC's website.

In a statement issued this afternoon, the college said Deare had worked in the school's English Department for more than 15 years and had numerous accolades for her work as a producer.

“The entire Bunker Hill Community College community mourns the tragic death of Professor Beth Deare. She had worked for more than 15 years in the College’s English Department and was a very passionate and engaging professor who was greatly admired by her students," the school's statement said. "She was also an award-winning film maker known for chronicling the black experience in America in numerous documentaries. For her work as a film producer, she won 13 Emmies, 1 Peabody and international awards. We extend our deepest condolences to her family and friends.”

Deare was a member of the Board of Directors for No Limits Media and, according to the biography on the No Limits website, Deare was a cancer survivor as well as a video producer entrepreneur, a career that started after she founded the Caribbean Center for Understanding Media.

The biography also notes Deare's work as a producer on PBS' "Say Brother" as well as her work producing other television projects for PBS that have aired across the country. 

A Beth Deare is listed on the Internet Movie Database as a producer and script supervisor for "The American Experience."

"I would like to thank the emergency responders, in particular the Newton Police and Fire Departments, for their outstanding work in responding to this morning's tragic fire,"  said in an e-mailed statement this afternoon. "My thoughts and prayers go out to the victim's family during this difficult time."

Stephen Walsh contributed to this report.