First responders found the body of a 39-year-old man on Saturday, May 12, following a two-alarm fire on Case Street the previous day that left both firefighters and residents injured.
The man has been identified as Golam Saroar, a student and immigrant from Bangladesh, according to WABC.
FDNY personnel searched 40-46 Case St. at 5 p.m. last Saturday after requests from the missing man’s family. Investigators discovered Saroar, who seemed unconscious and unresponsive when they arrived. EMS responded at the scene and pronounced the man dead.
As The Daily News reported, the Elmhurst home had been illegally subdivided, with a full apartment created in the basement and multiple Single Room Occupancy units created on the first floor. According to the Buildings Department, the owner of the home received violations for creating several illegal conversions.
The fire was one of two that happened within hours of each other; the first fire happened on May 11 just after 5 a.m. while another fire broke out at 11:15 p.m. on May 10 on 71st Street in Jackson Heights. A family of four were victims of last Friday’s fire, and the two young children were in critical condition.
According to The Daily News, 7-year-old Sharon Basra is breathing on her own, while her cousin Jasmine Basra, 7, is expected to be taken off her breathing tube today.
