80-year-old woman killed in Parkchester house fire
Firefighters responded to the scene on Leland Avenue around 3:30 a.m.
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An 80-year-old woman has died from her injuries after a fire broke out in her apartment building in Parkchester on early Saturday morning, according to authorities.
Firefighters responded to the scene on Leland Avenue around 3:30 a.m.
Multiple tenants in the multifamily home said they had made repeated complaints to the landlord about the elderly woman. They said she frequently kept dozens of candles burning at the same time.
“Candles from the time she opened her door all the way through to her bedroom,” Audrey said. “There were numerous candles — it was a matter of time this happened.”
Audrey, who lives next door to the woman, said she ran out in a panic after seeing thick, black smoke filling the hallway.
Audrey and 25 other residents, along with two pets, have been displaced as the fire caused extensive damage throughout the building.
Audrey added that there were signs something was wrong earlier but said she did not hear any smoke alarms.
“I could feel something strange was going on. I could hear cracking sounds in the walls, and then I heard screaming,” she said.
A cause of the fire was not immediately known.
