Woman Dies In Washington Heights Apartment Fire, Police Say

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A woman died after a fire broke out in a Washington Heights apartment building early Friday morning, police said.

First responders arrived at 945 St. Nicholas Ave., located between West 157th and 158th streets, around 12:45 a.m. Friday to discover a fire in a fourth-floor apartment of the building. After firefighters extinguished the flames, police officers discovered 41-year-old Natasha Paulema unconscious and unresponsive inside the apartment, police said.

Paulema, the resident of the apartment, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The city medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the woman's exact cause of death.

Eight other people suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the fire and were treated at area hospitals, an FDNY spokesman said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by city fire marshals, police said.

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