Woman dies in fire trying to save cats

A 53-YEAR-OLD grandmother died after she raced inside her burning Bronx home in an apparent bid to save her beloved pet cats, officials and relatives said.

Cynthia Holley first led her two daughters and grandson out of her fire-engulfed home on Boller Ave. in Eastchester about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Then she rushed back inside the home.

“She had the cats inside,” Holley’s devastated mother said. “She loved those cats.”

Firefighters beat back the blaze, which was sparked by an unattended candle, and found Holley unresponsive on a stairwell inside the single-family home.

Paramedics rushed her to Jacobi Medical Center, but doctors couldn’t save her, officials said.