Retired teacher, 74, identified as victim in fatal house fire Wednesday in Sudbury

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported the victim's age. Hema Shahani was 74.

SUDBURY — Fighter.

That's how Jeet Shahani described his mother, Hema, who died Wednesday after being unable to escape a fire that broke out at her 30 Goodman's Hill Road home. She was 74.

Hema Shahni, a retired teacher, was remembered by her son as being an amazing woman and fighter, having been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease when she was 66. She was looking forward to going on a vacation with family in a few weeks, according to Jeet.

"She was really excited about it, and her condition was actually getting better too," Jeet Shahani told the Daily News on Friday. He said she was even trying to exercise, and was asking for jewelry in preparation for the trip.

Earlier: Sudbury resident dies in house fire despite 'heroic' effort by first responder

Jeet Shahani called his mother an "inspiration" because she began her teaching career in India when she was 16.

"Because she started that early there was a lot of students who learned from her, and so they had held her in high regard," he said. "Even her brother was telling me yesterday how she was the leader of the family and how everybody looked up to her in her own family with, you know, among her siblings."

Hema Shahani had eight siblings.

Her son went on to praise her for continuing to teach after getting married.

"A lot of people give up their career or don't even start their career, even though they might be educated," Jeet Shahani said. "So that was pretty amazing, and she took care of two kids while she was a teacher."

"She was a very, very, very, very caring lady, and always nice to everybody," he continued. "And she believed in doing goodness too and treating everybody with respect."

Police chief says officer made 'heroic' effort to save fire victim

The Sudbury Fire and Police departments responded to Goodman's Hill Road just after 5 a.m. Wednesday after a 911 call reporting a house fire. When firefighters arrived, they found a large amount of flames shooting from the home's rear.

The fire went to three alarms.

Three residents — Hema Shahani's husband, her other son and her helper — escaped from the home before firefighters arrived.

Two people were taken to a local hospital for evaluation, Sudbury Fire Chief John Whalen said during a press conference later on Wednesday. Those individuals were later identified by NBC10 Boston as Hema Shahani's other son, who suffered burns, and a police officer, who suffered smoke inhalation.

Police Chief Scott Nix confirmed during the news conference that a police officer was taken to an area hospital.

The officer, whom Nix did not identify, was the first emergency worker to arrive. Nix said the officer entered the home in what the chief called a "heroic" act to try and help the victim.

"He did a great job under a difficult situation," Nix said. "Prayers to the family."

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Sudbury Fire and Police departments, the state Fire Marshal's Office, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office and the Fire District 14 investigative unit.

Jake Wark, a public information officer with the state Fire Marshal's Office, said Friday there were no updates regarding the cause of the blaze.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Retired teacher, 74, identified as victim of fatal Sudbury house fire