You are reading

Man Killed After Fire Rips Through East Elmhurst Home Sunday

Wikimedia Commons

May 18, 2020 By Michael Dorgan

A man was killed after a fire ripped through his East Elmhurst home Sunday afternoon.

Merle Springer, 57, was inside the second floor of a two-story wood-frame house on 24-32 96th St. when the fire broke out, according to the FDNY.

The FDNY was alerted to the blaze at 1:08 p.m. and arrived on the scene a short time after.

They discovered Springer trapped inside the building. He was unconscious and unresponsive.

Firefighters pulled Springer from the house and EMS transported him to Elmhurst General Hospital.

He was later pronounced dead, according to the police.

Springer lived in the building with his 81-year-old mother, who managed to escape from the building unharmed, police said.

Firefighters got the blaze under control at 2:02 p.m., according to an FDNY spokesperson.

The Medical Examiner will ultimately determine the cause of death and the investigation is ongoing.

email the author: [email protected]
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Manhattan bouncer charged in New Year’s Day fatal stabbing in Elmhurst: NYPD

A Manhattan man was arrested on Saturday and charged in the fatal stabbing of an East Elmhurst man during the early morning hours of New Year’s Day in what notably became the city’s first homicide of 2024.

Torrence Holmes, 35, of St. Nicholas Place in Hamilton Heights, was taken into custody at his home and transported back to Queens, where he was booked at the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst on manslaughter and other charges on Saturday afternoon.

After surge of traffic violence, Queens leaders demand safer streets especially for children

Following a tragic week on Queens streets where three pedestrians — 43-year-old Natalia Garcia-Valencia, 58-year-old Elisa Bellere and 8-year-old Bayrron Palomino Arroyo — were fatally struck by unsafe drivers, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced that he has allocated $1.5 million in capital funding for street safety improvements on three of the borough’s most dangerous roadways.

Richards made the announcement at 82nd Street and Astoria Boulevard in East Elmhurst on Monday morning, about a mile from where the 8-year-old boy was struck and killed by an impatient pickup truck driver from Flushing on Mar. 13 as he walked in the crosswalk at 31st Avenue and 101st Street with him mother and brother, who was injured.