A Jan. 27 kitchen fire in a Hilton Avenue apartment has taken the life of an 83-year-old Garden City woman.

The Garden City Fire Department received the initial call on its emergency line at 2:39 p.m. reporting a fire on the fourth floor of the Hilton Avenue apartment complex by the building superintendent.

The department dispatched a general alarm at that time. Duty Lieutenant Pete Clancy was on scene at 2:40 p.m. The first engine followed at 2:41 p.m.

According to Captain Frank, Lt. Clancy took the stairs to the fourth floor where he observed a medium smoke condition in the hallway. The building super, who, according to the fire department report, stopped to check on the occupant as he regularly did, left the door to the woman's apartment ajar.

Lt. Clancy entered the apartment, where he located a small fire in the kitchen area. A water extinguisher put it out. Once the smoke lifted, Captain Frank said Lt. Clancy was able to determine that the fire consisted of a kitchen chair in which the elderly woman was still sitting. The burn injuries were visibly severe. Lt. Clancy at that time concluded the occupant was deceased.

The county's fire marshal was called to the scene to investigate, along with Garden City police. A preliminary investigation states the cause of the fire to be careless smoking, Captain Frank said. However, final determination will be made once the medical examiner has concluded an autopsy, which was not completed as of press time.

The woman's name, as of press time, was not released to the public pending notification of family.