Two other victims — one with minor injuries and one with serious injuries —also were taken to Queens Hospital Center.
The fire emanated from the basement of the single-family brick home at 179-22 Zoller Road, and the cause is believed to be accidental: faulty electrical wiring, according to the FDNY.
It was reported at 6:20 a.m., the fire department said, and four minutes later 14 units and 70 firefighters arrived at the scene — a standard response for an all-hands fire.
The dwelling was a “Collyers’ mansion” — a home cluttered with a lot of material — making it difficult to put out the fire and rescue victims, according to Frank Dwyer, a spokesman for the FDNY.
“It makes it more combustible,” Dwyer said. “If you have an empty room on fire, it is easier to put out than a room full of furniture.”
The clutter did not cause Lagree’s death, however. “He went back in — that’s why he’s dead,” said Dwyer. “A fire is never a good place to be.”
The term Collyers’ mansion is derived from two brothers — Homer and Langley Collyer — compulsive hoarders who obsessively collected newspapers, books, furniture and musical instruments, among other things. They were eventually found dead under piles of debris.
The Springfield Gardens fire was brought under control at 7:16 a.m. after burning for nearly an hour. Most of the windows had been boarded up by Monday afternoon and debris such as clothing and other matter were amassed in piles along either side of the 20-by-40-foot blue home.
A man standing in front of the home told a reporter from the Queens Chronicle to “Go away” and prevented her from interviewing other people nearby through physical intimidation. He would not say if he was a resident there. A police officer was stationed outside the residence and a worker was boarding up open windows at the time.
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