by Cindi Avila
A woman was killed in a bedroom fire Saturday morning in a quiet Williamsburg neighborhood. The flames broke out on the first floor of a three story town house on South Fifth and Keap Street. The Fire Department was able to respond within three minutes of the call, but they were not able to save the 27-year-old victim. The flames were contained to her bedroom, but neighbors say they feared it would spread to their apartments. "I was woken up by the smell of smoke and banging on the wall. Actually, you can hear everything from next door," said neighbor Joseph Lema. "As soon as I opened the curtains, I saw the Fire Department and started running out." The landlord of the building was too distraught to talk, but the FDNY says he reportedly rushed into his tenant's apartment to try to save her after he smelled smoke. "One of the neighbors from upstairs was downstairs. He tried to use an extinguisher on it, but he couldn't get that close," said FDNY Deputy Chief Michael Marrone. Firefighters arrived on the scene just three minutes after getting a 911 call. While it was too late for the 27-year-old woman inside the fire-filled apartment, fire crews did manage to stop flames from spreading to nearby homes. Police are ruling the fire as accidental. Police believe the victim was smoking in bed may have sparked the blaze.
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