Elmhurst apartment fire kills man, injures two

By Rachel Vick

A fire in a fifth-floor Elmhurst apartment early Monday morning killed a man and injured two other residents, police said.

The fire at 88-35 Elmhurst Ave., near the 82nd Avenue no. 7 train station, began just before 3 a.m. Firefighters responded to a 911 call and extinguished the blaze, before finding the three residents. The victims sustained smoke inhalation-related injuries, according to the NYPD.

George Ortega, 50, was pronounced dead after being transported to Elmhurst Hospital Center. A 30-year-old man remains in critical condition at Elmhurst Hospital and a 36-year-old woman was transported to North Shore Forest Hills where she is in stable condition.

The NYPD said the Medical Examiner’s office would determine Ortega’s cause of death.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined and an investigation continues.