By Christina Santucci
A 50-year-old woman died in an early morning blaze in South Jamaica Wednesday, a spokesman for the Fire Department and her neighbors said.
About 60 members of New York’s Bravest responded to battle the blaze at the home on 102nd Avenue near the Van Wyck Expressway in South Jamaica at about 5:30 a.m., the FDNY spokesman said.
Neighbor Latanya Dawson, 32, said she saw flames shooting out of one of three second-floor windows and firefighters rushing into the burning home.
“By the time I heard the commotion, the Fire Department was doing what they do best,” she said, as she and several other residents on the block watched members of the NYPD’s Crime Scene Unit investigate later that morning. “They went in with the flames.”
Fire officials said one person was killed in the fire and one firefighter sustained minor injuries. At about 10:30 a.m., members of the city medical examiner’s office removed the body from the house.
Afterward, investigators tossed charred items, included what appeared to be a mattress, from a second-floor window to the sidewalk and driveway below.
Several neighbors identified the woman who was killed as a native of Trinidad and said she was about to become a grandmother for the third time.
“It’s just sad,” said Jelease Elbey, 32, who lives across the street.
Reach managing editor Christina Santucci by e-mail at timesledgerphotos@gmail.com or by phone at 718-260-4589.
