Emergency services were called to a home on Broughton Road in Elizabeth Vale in the city’s north at about 3.45am.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze in minutes, but a 72-year-old woman was found dead inside.
A 54-year-old man, believed to be her son, was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.
The house sustained relatively little external damage.
The blaze is not believed to be suspicious.
