A malfunctioning appliance triggered a fire at an Ozone Park home early on Sunday morning that claimed the life of a 68-year-old man, Fire Department sources said on Tuesday.
A 68-year-old man was found dead in the basement of his Ozone Park home after a fire broke out there early on Sunday morning, police reported.
Firefighters and officers from the 102nd Precinct responded to a 911 call at about 2:37 a.m. on Sept. 24 of a fire inside the house located on 97th Avenue near 107th Street.
The Daily News reported that Mohinvei Singh, 68, was on the first floor of the residence when he saw smoke coming out of the basement and went down to investigate. While others inside the home managed to leave, he never made it out.
Firefighters managed to put out the blaze at about 3:40 a.m., but found Singh unconscious and unresponsive in the basement. Paramedics on the scene pronounced him dead. Singh’s body was taken to the medical examiner’s office for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Smoke detectors were present at the home but did not activate during the fire, a Fire Department spokesperson said.
