A raging fire killed an elderly man inside a Queens apartment building on Sunday evening, after firefighters’ efforts to extinguish the flames were slowed down by a car blocking a fire hydrant, according to authorities.
Nearly 90 EMS personnel and firefighters rushed to respond to the blaze that broke out at the apartment complex on 78th Street between Broadway and Woodside Avenue in Elmhurst just before 7:20 p.m., according to the FDNY.
Firefighters discovered an 83-year-old man who was unconscious and unresponsive with severe injuries during their search operations, according to police and fire officials.
The man was taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, the NYPD said.
He was found in the rear bedroom of an apartment unit on the sixth floor of the building, where there was “heavy fire” and “heavy smoke conditions on the whole top floor,” FDNY Deputy Chief Jeff Meister said at the scene.
As smoke-eaters rushed to put out the flames and try to rescue the man, units encountered a frozen fire hydrant and another blocked by a vehicle in front of the building.
“It seems to be an issue throughout the city where residents are parking on hydrants,” Meister said.
“When vehicles are parked at a hydrant, it definitely impedes our operations. It slows everything down. Getting water on the fire fast is a critical part of our jobs,” he added.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, authorities said.