An older woman died Wednesday afternoon after a fire broke out in her Upper East Side apartment.
The 74-year-old victim initially was hanging onto life after a total of around 60 firefighters and EMS personnel rushed to the scene of the blaze at a five-story building on First Ave. and E. 81st St. around 12:33 p.m. and removed her from the place, officials said.
EMS transported her to Weill Cornell Medical Center where she later died. The city’s medical examiner will determine the cause of death.
“She has been here a long time,” the building’s super, Wally Acevedo, said. “She’s very active in the community. She stayed on top of a lot of things.”
The woman put up birdhouses along the Yorkville block, the super recalled.
“She ordered them,” he said, “got them and painted them, and she put them up.”
She also beautified the street by planting flowers, he added.
“She hasn’t been active in the last few months because she had an operation and she wasn’t getting around,” Acevedo said. “Before that she was very active.”
Four other people and three firefighters suffered minor injuries and were also transported to Weill Cornell, the FDNY said.
The fire was extinguished around 1:22 p.m. Fire marshals are investigating the blaze’s cause.
