Fire results in death of elderly woman

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An elderly Riverdale woman who was listed in critical condition after a blaze ripped through her Fieldston Road apartment at the end of November died from her injuries on Nov. 22.

The victim, Jeanette Gevov, was 99 years old, according to the co-op’s superintendent Rick Lane.

The city’s Medical Examiner has ruled the cause of Ms. Gevov’s death as smoke inhalation and said the manner of death was an accident. Fire Marshals determined the blaze came from a stove fire in Ms. Gevov’s kitchen.

A spokesperson for the FDNY said firefighters responded to a fire at 5500 Fieldston Road on Nov. 22 around 12:34 p.m. on the ninth floor of the building.

Richie Ofarrill, one of the building’s handymen, rushed to the Ms. Gevov’s aid after a tenant said that she saw smoke coming from a window.

Mr. Ofarill said he banged on Ms. Gevov’s door, but she did not open it. 

“The hallway was filling up with smoke at that point,” he later recalled. 

Twenty units consisting of 80 firefighters arrived at the building. They were able to put out the fire by 1:13 p.m., according to the FDNY. 

Ms. Gevov was transported to New York Presbyterian Hospital, where she was listed in critical condition before succumbing to her injuries on the same day.

Fire, Fieldston Road, Tanisia Morris

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