Two Harlem families Saturday breathed a sigh of relief after learning a massive blaze that tore through a local funeral home spared the remains of their relatives.
The bodies of two elderly women were inside the James L. Perkins Memorial Chapel on West 145th Street when a five-alarm fire broke out nearby Friday — worrying relatives that their remains had been unintentionally cremated.
“[Funeral director Herman Johnson Jr.] was working on her when the fire broke out. He went back in today and saw her and said she was secure where she is and she is fine,” said Monique Thomas, 36, referring to her grandmother, Marguerite Thomas, who died of heart failure at 82 and was scheduled for a Monday memorial service.
Johnson said the remains of a second woman, Lizzie Evans, 66, also appeared to be fine.
“It’s been pretty rough,” he told The Post. “The caskets seem intact, but we have not been able to remove them.”
The blaze broke out at around 7:46 p.m. at the Hair and Body Control Salon at 212 W. 145th St., spreading to a nearby church and several other buildings.
More than 170 firefighters worked furiously until they were finally able to quell the flames at about midnight. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.