A heatless weekend at Co-op City

Tens of thousands of people remained stranded in unheated apartments in the Bronx’s Co-op City for much of the weekend after a fire knocked out the development’s electrical system.

The complex (photo) houses more than 40,000 people in 35 high-rises and seven clusters of townhouses — and many of them lost power about 8 a.m. on Friday due to a transformer fire, officials said. Electricity was restored in some buildings Saturday afternoon but it went down again early Sunday.

Co-op City has a power plant that generates electricity for its residents — and crews had installed temporary generators across the complex by Sunday afternoon that restored at least partial power to most of the development. The Co-op City Public Safety Department sent tweets urging residents to conserve electricity.

The blackouts knocked out elevator service in the high-rise buildings, leaving many elderly or disabled tenants with no way to leave or access their apartments.

The outages appeared to cause at least one death in the complex. Ada Longmore, 73, was found dead between the 18th and 19th floors of her building’s stairwell Friday afternoon with her empty oxygen tank by her side.

Linda Berk, president of Riverbay Corp., which runs Co-op City, said at a news conference Sunday that Longmore did not sign up for a list of tenants that rely on medical equipment powered by electricity — which may have prompted a wellness check before her death.

“Our hearts go out to the family and to the woman,” said Berk. “We don’t know the details of the investigation.”

Wayne Edwards, 64, who lives in Building 6, said his heat and electricity were restored about 7 a.m. on Sunday after going out for a second time the night before.

He left to stay at his sister’s home in Yonkers, fearing he’d lose power again.

Edwards, who is diabetic, said he had to take his insulin out of his refrigerator and put it on ice Friday. As the blackouts persisted, he said, the temperature in his apartment dipped into the 30s Saturday night.

“When the heat is not on you can feel the wind coming in from outside,” said Edwards. “It’s a real hardship. I’ve lived there 26 years now. I’ve never experienced anything like this.”