Longtime Flushing resident pulled from fire dies in hospital

A solitary Queens senior citizen died at a local hospital early Friday after he was pulled by firefighters from his burning two-story home, authorities said.

Allen Hoffman, 74, arrived at NY Presbyterian Queens Hospital in cardiac arrest after suffering smoke inhalation in the smoky blaze in Flushing just before 3 a.m., according to police. Neighbors recalled Hoffman was a more than 30-year resident of the neighborhood who lived alone and enjoyed old TV reruns.

“He was quiet, he kept to himself,” said neighbor Richie Trezza, 69. “He liked Jackie Gleason. He used to play a lot of old TV shows and you’d hear him laughing. He was a good neighbor.”

The fire started on the upper floor of the residence and was extinguished after about an hour, with fire marshals investigating the cause, officials said.

Trezza’s wife Sandra, 64, recounted the chaotic scene as 60 firefighters responded to the scene in the darkness, with no other injuries reported after FDNY vehicles arrived with sirens wailing.

“It woke the whole neighborhood up,” she said. “The whole block was filled with trucks. I saw the firemen running all over here. I think when they brought him out of the house he was unconscious, but not alive.”

Neighbor Evelyn Sabatino, 70, recalled the victim as a man who kept to himself. “He was a loner,” she said.

“It went as far as hello and goodbye. In the summers I used to see him, he used to have these little remote-controlled boats. He used to go to Port Washington, over there by Manhasset ... where they have these little races.”

“We all just congregated out here,” she said. “I said, ‘Is he home? Did they get him out?’ They said they got him out, but it didn’t look good ... But never did I dream it was on our block. There was no flames, just smoke.”

The victim was related to the family that operated Hoffman Beverages, and he once ran a bottling company in Brooklyn, said Richie Trezza.

The neighbor said he never saw Hoffman bring anything into the house except for groceries.

“Nice guy,” said Trezza. “He was into computers. I know because even the fire guy said they had a bunch of tower computers and a ton of screens (inside the home).”