An elderly Brunswick woman was rushed to a Portland hospital with severe burns Wednesday after her clothes apparently caught fire while cooking.

Witnesses said Harriet Soulen suffered extensive burns and was taken by ambulance from her home at 14 Beech Drive at approximately 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The fire was reported at 5:54 p.m., Brunswick Fire Capt. Matt Barnes said.

Dan Mahoney, who lives next door, said his wife received a LifeLine activation message from Soulen and went next door to discover the woman ablaze.

Mahoney, 50, received minor burns to his hand when he helped remove burning items from the home; he later transported himself to the hospital.

Hope Mahoney rode with Soulen in the ambulance to Portland and reported to her husband by cell phone that the woman’s clothes had caught fire while cooking.

Police on scene said Soulen was in stable but critical condition when she was transported, having suffered burns over a large portion of her body.

The Mahoneys estimated Soulen is in her early 90s.

Fire units responded from Brunswick and Topsham, and an investigator with the state fire marshal’s office was on scene.

Soulen was in critical condition this morning, a spokesperson for Maine Medical Center said.

Damage to the home appeared minimal.

“I had a small fire in the kitchen and a fire in the mud room,” Barnes said. “We knocked it down immediately.”

Mahoney said the fire was confined to the kitchen.

bmentzinger@timesrecord.com