By Nicholas Rizzi and Wil Cruz
DNAinfo Staff
QUEENS — A 69-year-old grandmother died late Wednesday after a fire swept through her lifelong South Jamaica home, officials said.
The victim, Elaine Spencer, could not escape the blaze at 146-03 120th Ave., in South Jamaica, police and her family said. The woman's daughter and granddaughter managed to get out of the two-story house without injuries, FDNY and police officials said.
The victim's daughter, Sharon Spencer-Smith, 45, said she and her 11-year-old daughter were on the first floor of the two-story house while the victim was on the second floor when the fire started about 11 p.m.
"It just happened so fast," said Spencer-Smith, adding that she was alerted to the blaze when neighbors came knocking on their door, pointing toward the second floor.
She added that her mother, a retired bookkeeper, was born in the house and that Spencer-Smith also lived there with her husband and daughter.
“She was a hardworking woman. She stood by my side through thick and thin," Spencer-Smith said of her mother. "I feel empty.”
Spencer-Smith could not say what ignited the fatal blaze.
It was unclear where firefighters found the grandmother, who was unconscious and unresponsive by the time firefighters reached her, officials said.
She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The single-alarm blaze was under control about a half hour after it started, fire officials said. Fire marshals were investigating the cause.
