A man and woman discovered dead after a fire blasted through the cluttered Queens garage where they were living were the victims of arson, authorities said Monday.
No arrests have been made, but the deaths have been ruled homicides by police. Police are investigating if the fire was started by a lady who knew the man who died.
After receiving a complaint at 6:35 a.m., sixty firemen responded to a fire in the two-story garage behind a private residence on 91st Ave. at 175th St. in Jamaica. Saturday, officials stated.
“I was sleeping when I suddenly woke up.” I heard someone yell, ‘Get out!’ “Get out!” Faim Shorom, 28, a second-floor resident at the property, remembered. “I peered out. I noticed a lot of smoke from the garage.”
“I was in the house,” explained a man who lives on the first floor. “Everyone went to the back [of the garage] to try and get them out but couldn’t. We did not have a chance. The fire was too big to go into. My other friend went in and tried to get him out. “He couldn’t.”
By 7:30 a.m., firefighters had brought the flames under control, according to officials.
Both individuals died at the spot. The victims’ names have not yet been disclosed.