Man killed in blaze
Qns. neighbors tell of screams then silence
A Queens man perished in a raging fire that gutted his topfloor apartment, authorities said.
The flames erupted on the top floor of a two-story residence on 148th Ave. near 258th St. in Rosedale around 11:50 p.m. Wednesday.
Neighbors heard the 56-yearold victim scream above them, but authorities said he was already dead by the time firefighters arrived.
“He was shouting and stamping like he was trying to put the fire out, then he went quiet,” neighbor Peter Lugay told the Daily News. “By that time the fire had overtaken him.”
The victim had a small Chihuahua that managed to escape the fire. Family members were taking care of the pup, another neighbor said.
“Our dogs used to play together. They’re real nice to each other, used to bark at one another,” said Carl Patterson, 53. “The family told me that they rescued his dog and that (the victim) died trying to put out the fire himself.”
Lugay, 62, was listening to the recap of a basketball game in his basement apartment when he
“heard a commotion” upstairs.
“All you can see is a big ball of fire on the top floor in the back,” he said. “We were banging on the door, but he wasn’t responding.”
Patterson recalled hearing a small explosion before seeing the flames. “I heard a boom and the whole top of the house was on fire,” he said.
More than 60 firefighters battled the blaze which was put out within 40 minutes, an FDNY spokesman said. The cause of the fire was still under investigation Thursday.
Lugay and the first-floor tenants were not hurt, they said.
The top-floor apartment was decimated down to its wooden beams, leaving only charred kitchen cabinets and a scorched refrigerator, pictures from the scene show. The fire even stretched down the staircase leading to the second floor.
“I don’t understand why he didn’t run out rather than try to put out the fire,” Lugay said of the victim. “Me, I see a fire, I’m gone. I wouldn’t try to put it out.
“A fireman told me that maybe he was asleep and when he woke up he was actually on fire,” Lugay added.
Workers were boarding up the building Thursday afternoon. More than 12 hours after the blaze, the entire block still reeked of smoke.
Friends said the doomed Queens man worked as a dental assistant at Bellevue Hospital.
Preeta Persaud said her mother worked with the victim at Bellevue.
“My mom cannot stop crying,” Persaud, 37, said. “She went to his office and they didn’t even know yet. All they know is that he called out today.”
“I’m shocked. I can’t grasp the idea that he’s actually gone,” she said tearfully over the phone.
The victim was also an avid fan of baseball and paintball and often asked Lugay to give him a lift to the train station so he could participate in paintball matches on Long Island.
“He was always excited about it,” said Lugay. “He had a little little dog and he called the dog ‘Biggie,’ so that gives you an idea on how funny he is.”