Sept. 25, 2023 By Michael Dorgan
A 74-year-old man who was critically injured in a fire inside a Sunnyside apartment building overnight Saturday has died.
The victim, whose identity has not been released and is pending family notification, died after being injured in the inferno that started just before midnight on Saturday, Sept. 23, according to the NYPD.
The blaze broke out at 43-30 46th St. — a six-story apartment building located between 43rd Avenue and Queens Boulevard — and the FDNY responded to the scene after receiving a 911 call at 11:52 p.m. of a fire on the fourth floor, an FDNY spokesperson said.
Video footage posted online shows the inferno engulfing a room inside an apartment with fire spewing out from a window.
Around 60 firefighters from 12 units responded to the scene and brought the blaze under control just after 1:20 a.m., the FDNY said. At least one tower ladder truck was put into operation, the footage shows.
The senior was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition, the FDNY said. He was later pronounced dead, according to the NYPD.
Neither the FNDY nor the NYPD could say if the victim lived in the building. A firefighter also suffered minor injuries while tackling the blaze, the FDNY said.
Council Member Julie Won, who represents the district, took to social media on Sunday to remember the fallen senior.
“My heart goes out to the Sunnysider who we lost and the firefighter who was injured in last night’s fatal fire on 46th Street,” Won posted to Instagram.
“Thank you to the more than 60 firefighters and Emergency Medical Services workers who risked their lives to respond.”
It is unclear what sparked the blaze, with the FDNY saying the cause of the fire is under investigation.