One of the five civilians rescued by the FDNY from a 2-alarm house fire in College Point on Friday morning was arrested later in the day for allegedly starting the blaze in his first-floor apartment.
Jonathan Mejia, 33, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16 on a complaint charging him with arson in the first degree, four counts of attempted murder in the second degree and other related charges.
Police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing responded to a 911 call of a fire at 15-11 124th St., and were informed that an emotionally disturbed person who lived in the home was smoking a cigarette in his room while cutting his wrist with a butter knife. It is believed that cigarettes were the cause of the fire. The FDNY received a call just after 6:20 a.m. of a fire in the two-story private home at 15-11 124th St., and arriving units found heavy fire and smoke conditions emanating from the home. A second alarm was transmitted just before 6:30 a.m., bringing a total of 25 units with 120 firefighters and EMS personnel to the scene between 15th Avenue and 18th Avenue, according to the FDNY.
EMS treated a total of five patients, one with severe injuries, one with moderate injuries and three with minor injuries, according to the FDNY. Four were transported to area hospitals, but the fifth, Mejia, was transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for a laceration to the wrist and was listed in stable condition. Pursuant to an ongoing investigation, Mejia was taken into custody.
According to the criminal complaint, a witness heard Mejia say, “F**k this bitch. F**k this place. I am going to burn this house down.”
A police officer from the 109th Precinct heard Mejia say, “Kill me, kill me motherf**kers, can you shoot me in the f**king face. Shoot me motherf**ker. I was smoking a cigarette.”
Another police officer from the 109th Precinct heard Mejia say, “I wanted to take my life.”
Mejia was additionally charged with assault in the second degree – an armed felony offense, four counts of reckless endangerment in the first degree and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child because a 12-year-old and a 4-year-old lived in the house.
Queens Criminal Court Judge Glenda Hernandez remanded Mejia into custody without bail.
The charges against Mejia could have been even more serious if not for the actions of Probationary Firefighter John Palmer of Ladder 144 in Whitestone, who conducted a search inside the home. Working in zero visibility conditions, Palmer located an unresponsive 65-year-old man in a bathroom and carried the patient to safety, according to the FDNY.
According to the criminal complaint, the man had suffered a cardiac arrest. After he was rescued by Palmer and transferred to an EMS ambulance, he suffered a second cardiac arrest. Thanks to the combined efforts of Palmer and other firefighters on scene and EMS providing advanced care, the patient regained pulses, according to the FDNY. He was transported to New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital, showing signs of improvement, officials said.
