Heavy smoke from a fire at an Elmhurst apartment building early on Monday morning claimed one resident’s life and left two others seriously injured, police reported.
Authorities said the one-alarm blaze broke out just before 3 a.m. on July 29 inside a fifth-floor unit of a building on Elmhurst Avenue near Elbertson Street.
Though firefighters quickly doused the flames, law enforcement sources said, they found 50-year-old George Ortega and two other residents — a 30-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman — suffering from smoke inhalation.
Paramedics rushed Ortega to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The other male victim was also brought to Elmhurst Hospital and is currently listed in critical condition.
EMS units rushed the female victim to Forest Hills Hospital; she’s listed in stable condition.
The FDNY Fire Marshals are now investigating what caused the blaze.
