On March 1, a Roosevelt, New Jersey woman’s fight against an eviction notice turned deadly when she purposefully set fire to the house she shared with numerous cats.

The woman and the cats died in the fire, which started around 11:10 a.m. after a standoff with police who were there to evict her.

After the owner of the house unsuccessfully tried to evict the woman several times, state police went to the house to serve her with an eviction notice. The owner wanted to sell the house.

The woman refused to leave the house and threatened to blow it up.

According to Lieutenant Lawrence Peele, the cat lady turned on the gas before starting the fire.

Troopers noticed smoke coming from the house and attempted to evacuate the woman, but she refused. The house was engulfed in flames a short time later.

Firefighters from multiple departments responded to the Cedar Court home and attempted to bring it under control. It took them several hours to extinguish the flames, which they finally did at around 1:35 p.m., but by then, the house had burned down and the flames had spread to a neighboring house.

Several firefighters were also injured in the fire, according to the state marshal.

The fire also damaged a portion of neighbor Emma Quackenbush’s house, where she had lived for over two decades. Quackenbush told reporters that she had lost everything in the fire and that, while a portion of her home remained standing, it was unlivable.

During the standoff, police also evacuated neighbors after the unidentified woman threatened to blow up the house.

After putting out the fire, officers discovered the woman’s body, as well as the bodies of several cats. Authorities do not know how many animals she had with her. The deceased woman was a pet sitter who had recently built a cat house.