Elderly Woman Found Dead After Bed-Stuy Fire: NYPD

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — An elderly woman was found dead inside a Tompkins Avenue building that broke out in flames on Saturday, according to officials.

The 74-year-old woman was found unconscious on the third floor of the 367 Tompkins Avenue building after firefighters put out a blaze that began just after 11 p.m., according to police.

She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The three-alarm fire had broke out in the second and third floor of the four-story rowhouse and spread into the cockloft, according to fire officials.

It took more than two hours and 138 firefighters to put out the blaze, which was found between Putnam Avenue and Madison Street,, according to the FDNY. One firefighter was also hurting the flames, fire officials said.

The fire, which is under investigation by the Fire Marshal, is the second fatal blaze in Bed-Stuy this month and one of more than 10 fires that have recently broken out in the neighborhood.

Less than a mile from the Tompkins Avenue fire, nearby businesses are still recovering from a three-alarm blaze that reduced a Gates Avenue building to rubble on Feb. 7. It took 130 firefighters to put out the massive blaze and two bodies were later discovered in the debris, according to officials and reports.

The Gates Avenue fire was among a spate of 10 fires within just ten days in Bed-Stuy. The unexplained spate of fires — which began on Jan. 31 and continued at a steady pace — displaced 52 neighbors and injured 11 people, according to officials.

Read More:

• Bed-Stuy Sees 10 Fires In Just 11 Days: FDNY
• Family-Run Bed-Stuy Businesses Ravaged By Fire Need $50K