City firefighters were in mourning yesterday for New York's oldest fire matron - 102-year-old Georgiana McMenamin, who died after six decades of caring for a grateful group of Upper West Side blaze-busters. McMenamin became a matron for Engine 40/Ladder 35 on Amsterdam Avenue after her firefighter husband died of a heart attack in 1930 following a fire.
She sewed and ironed for the squad members, made their beds and washed their linens until her retirement in 1991, the FDNY said.
McMenamin, who died Sunday, was the last of a breed, her granddaughter told The Post.
"She loved to help out," said Carol Cavagnetto. "When it snowed, they had to call her to stay home. She was very, very devoted."
McMenamin was part of a tradition established by firefighters in 1865, before Social Security began providing pensions for the widows of fallen FDNY members.
At the time, the city's firehouses established a tradition of hiring "matrons," who acted as housekeepers, repairing clothes and performing odd jobs around the firehouse - for $13 a month.
By 1930, nearly every firehouse in the city had a fire matron.
"Obviously, she slowed down a bit as she got older," said FDNY spokeswoman Virginia Lam. "But the guys from the firehouse visited her every week, and they took groceries and gave her 100 bucks a month."
A wake for McMenamin was held yesterday, with services planned for today at 10:45 a.m. at St. Bartholomew's Church in Queens.
McMenamin is survived by a son, two daughters, a sister, 19 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, a great-great-grandchild, and a dozen nieces and nephews.
