Some friends called her “Tonia,’’ while others simply knew her as “Ma,’’ for her welcoming and motherly personality.

But no matter what nickname was used when talking about the victim of a fatal Dorchester fire early Saturday morning, those who saw her regularly in the Codman Square neighborhood said her death would leave a void.

The woman, whose name and age were not released by officials, was killed after a single-alarm fire broke out in her second-floor apartment at the old Girls Latin School at 380 Talbot Ave., around 3:50 a.m., fire officials said.

Derek Watkins, who identified himself as the victim’s nephew, said she was a kind person.

“I’m just devastated,’’ he said, looking up toward the shattered windows that exposed the burned-out apartment. “My heart is just broken right now.’’

Too distraught to speak further, Watkins got into a car and left the scene.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine a cause of death of the victim, Boston Fire Commissioner Joseph Finn said.

Firefighters who responded to the fire at the 54-unit building pulled the victim from the smoky apartment, where a significant blaze was contained to the living room area.

The victim was rushed to Boston Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

“They were able to get in the building quickly and were told there was a victim in the apartment, so they went to retrieve her. Sadly to say, she was pronounced dead,’’ said Finn, standing at the scene of the blaze hours after it was put out.

The woman’s death marked Boston’s second fire fatality this year, officials said.

John Rattler, 26, who lives one floor above where the fire occurred, described the woman who lived there as “very nice.’’ She would say “hi’’ to neighbors, he said, and often hold the door for people.

Rattler said he was woken up early Saturday by an alarm going off in the building. He didn’t take the situation seriously at first, he said, because there had been false alarms. But then he smelled the smoke wafting from the victim’s apartment.

“I heard someone yelling in the hallway, and I said . . . ‘We have to get out of here,’ ’’ said Rattler, who lives with his two young children and fiancée. “Thank God it wasn’t more than just that one apartment. But even that’s sad ­— I mean, she lost her life.’’

Rattler said he shepherded his family into their car to keep warm, while other residents were shuffled onto MBTA buses for shelter as fire crews battled the blaze.

As workers cleared out the scorched apartment Saturday morning, friends and family stared up at the building in disbelief.

A woman who would only give her name as Ms. Brown said she had lived with the victim for two months during the summer. Brown said the victim, whom she called “Ma,’’ took her in when she fell on hard times, and that news of the woman’s death came as a shock.

“She was lovable. If you needed anything, if you were hungry — she would cook and give you food. Whatever it is. If you needed a dollar or two dollars, whatever it is she would give it to you,’’ Brown said.

Brown described the victim as someone who was easy to talk to and the two would stay up all night and talk about everything from movies to “life in general.’’

“She used to tell us about her past. All types of things,’’ Brown said.

Estella Sena, who has lived in the building for seven years, shared light conversation with the victim and knew her as “Tonia.’’

“It’s very sad. She was a very sweet woman,’’ Sena said. “She was very friendly.’’

Kyle Tonge, who, like Brown, said the victim had helped him in a time of need, said her spirit could make people laugh.

He, too, called her “Ma.’’

“From the first time I met her, she was just friendly,’’ he said. “Just good vibes.’’

Aimee Ortiz of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Steve Annear can be reached at steve.annear@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @steveannear.