NEW YORK CITY — An elderly woman was killed after a fire broke out in a high-rise East Village apartment building early Wednesday, officials said.
The fire started in a fifth floor apartment in The Petersfield at 115 Fourth Ave., near East 12th Street, about midnight, killing an 84-year-old woman inside, according to NYPD and FDNY spokesmen.
The victim, whose identity was not immediately released, was pronounced dead at the scene. Nobody else was hurt, officials added.
A man who said he had worked in the building for about a decade said the victim had been there even longer. He said she used a walker and lived alone, but was visited by a nurse.
"She was a very nice lady," the worker said.
Investigators later determined the fire was sparked by a discarded cigarette, the FDNY said Thursday.
"Inside there was smoke. Not much. It was light," said a seventh floor tenant. "But it was really scary. My heart was pumping."
