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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.
