A grieving family have paid tribute to a “kind and caring” community nurse who died in a house fire after her son and husband fled the flames.
Mariama Kamara, 46, was rescued by firefighters from the first floor but tragically died at the scene in Railton Road, Brixton.
It is understood her husband and son escaped the blaze before the London Fire Brigade arrived to fight back the flames.
Devastated family members gathered at the cordon as forensics officers investigated the scene.
A blue tarpaulin has been placed over the first floor window of the terraced home Mrs Kamara lived in since moving to London from Sierra Leone in 1994.
Her brother-in-law Jonathan Sogbey, 41, said he was first at the scene after getting a frantic phone call from his brother at 4.30am.
He said: “I’m still in shock, when I got here police were trying to get everyone back. I saw my brother and nephew sitting down covered in blankets, crying to themselves. It was so stressful - it’s a real tragedy.
“She was a very caring person who lived for her family. She would have done anything for them.”
Her family said Mrs Kamara was born with one leg longer than the other and walked with a limp after a recent operation to correct it.
Mrs Kamara recently established a magazine to keep Brixton’s thriving Sierra Leone community connected with people in Africa.
Her cousin, who did not want to be named, through tears said: “She was beautiful and caring and so helpful. She was a community nurse and absolutely loved her job.
“She went to university to study it and always wanted to help as many people as she could.
“We just came here as soon as we heard. I always wanted her to look after my children if I died she was a second mother to them.
“She was always a calm and subtle presence. She was always stunning, that woman was amazing.”
Half of the first floor was completely destroyed by the fire, the London Fire Brigade said.
A probe has been launched into the cause of the fatal incident.
A spokesman said: "Sadly a woman has died in a house fire on Railton Road in Lambeth this morning.
"Firefighters tackled a fire at a mid-terraced, two-storey house where half of the first floor was completely destroyed by the fire.
"Fire crews wearing breathing apparatus rescued a woman from the first floor of the property, sadly she died at the scene.”
