Montgomery County Police on Monday identified the woman killed in a Chevy Chase house fire who went back into the burning home to save her cats.

Karen Elsa Carstens, 55, died in the early-morning blaze on Friday in the home in the 4700 block of Merivale Road.

There is no foul play suspected in Carstens’ death, police said.

The fire occurred about 5:45 a.m. and likely started in the garage, said Pete Piringer, a spokesperson for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.

The home had no smoke detectors.

When firefighters arrived at the home, Piringer said, an occupant indicated that everyone inside had made it out safely. But that person did not realize that Carstens reentered the burning home “likely looking for cats,” Piringer said in a post on X.

One of the two cats survived.

A man who was in the home was hospitalized for smoke inhalation.

The fire was deemed accidental and the home was considered a total loss, Piringer said.