Philadelphia firefighters distributed smoke detectors on Tuesday along the Oxford Circle block where a rowhouse blaze three days earlier claimed the life of a neighborhood woman.
Authorities identified the victim as Mary Jo Castrantas, 52, of the 6000 block of Summerdale Ave. She was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center in critical condition immediately after the fire and later died from lung injuries and carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the Philadelphia medical examiner’s office.
The blaze began at about 2:30 p.m. in the victim’s two-story rowhouse. Firefighters observed flames on the first floor and heavy smoke on the second. They pulled the victim from the home while preventing the fire from spreading to adjacent properties.
Fire department officials said the home had no working smoke alarms. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. ••
