Coroner identifies 56-year-old woman who died in fire at Erie's Richford Arms

The Erie County Coroner's Office has identified the woman who died in a fire in her apartment at an Erie high-rise on Wednesday evening.

She is Tina Palicia, 56, Coroner Lyell Cook said on Friday.

At around 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, the Erie Bureau of Fire responded to the Richford Arms apartment building at State Street and North Park Row, where a fire had erupted inside a fourth-floor apartment, Erie Chief Fire Inspector Donald Sauer told the Erie Times-News.

A woman was found dead inside the apartment, he said.

"It looked like the death was probably due to the fire one way or another," Sauer told the Times-News.

Sauer said the fire erupted in the apartment's living room and did not spread beyond the apartment. He said firefighters were able to control the blaze in about 15 minutes.

A cause of the fire is still under investigation, Sauer said on Friday.

Coroner's office says victim cause of death under investigation

Palicia was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:27 p.m.

There were no signs of trauma or apparent foul play, according to the Coroner's Office.

Cook on Friday said his office is waiting to rule on the cause of death following the results of toxicology tests to determine the level of carbon monoxide that was in the Palicia's body at the time of death. Cook said he has ruled the death accidental, but that the toxicology tests will allow him to determine whether Palicia died before or during the fire.

Sauer said no other injuries were reported in the fire.

"The crews that responded did a great job," he said. "They got the fire out quickly. It's just unfortunate that a person perished in the fire."

Richford Arms apartments recently renovated

The 10-story Richford Arms apartment building recently underwent an extensive $27 million renovation.

The project was funded largely via $12 million in tax credits from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. Such tax credit programs allow businesses to invest in housing-related projects.

Improvements included new elevators; upgraded heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; expansion of the building’s community and management spaces; facade upgrades; as well as six new apartments.

Richford Arms tenants range from people in their mid-20s to those in their early 90s. They receive Section 8 rental subsidies or other assistance through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Formerly the 400-room luxury Ford Hotel, Richford Arms opened in May 1928 touted as “Erie’s first fireproof hotel." The building later became known as the Richford Hotel.

Richford Arms building renovated: The $27 million upgrade of downtown Erie's Richford Arms is complete. Here are the details

A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNRao.

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Coroner identifies woman who died in apartment fire at Erie high-rise