On Sunday, February 15, 2026, just after 7 pm, the FDNY received multiple calls reporting a fire at 41-50 78th St., an apartment building in East Elmhurst between Broadway and Woodside Avenue. Upon arrival, the incident was classified as a heavy “all-hands fire,” and 21 FDNY units were dispatched, with a total of 79 firefighters and EMS personnel on site.
The fire was contained to one apartment in the building. Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze just before 8 pm. An 83-year-old man was found unconscious and unresponsive in the rear bedroom of apartment 619 on the 6th floor. Upon his discovery, he received emergency first aid and was quickly rushed to Elmhurst Hospital by EMS. He was pronounced dead a short while later, after succumbing to his injuries.
There were a few factors that slowed rescue efforts, according to officials. The building lacked standpipes, forcing firefighters to carry their hoses up to the 6th floor manually. Additionally, a vehicle blocked a fire hydrant at the scene, and another nearby hydrant was frozen and inoperable.
In a statement addressing the fire, Deputy Chief Jeff Meister said, “There seems to be an issue throughout the city where residents are parking on hydrants. When vehicles are parked on a hydrant, it definitely impedes our operation and slows everything down… seconds count when fires are being fought”.
Last month, firefighters faced similar issues when parked cars blocked 3 fire hydrants while responding to a fire in the Bronx that displaced nearly 100 people.
Sunday’s fire was the second fatal fire in Elmhurst in less than a week. On Monday, February 9, a 34-year-old woman and her 17-day-old baby were found dead in a basement apartment after a 4-alarm fire destroyed 3 homes on Dongan Avenue, only half a mile away from Sunday’s fire.
These deadly fires have prompted lawmakers to take action. Queens City Councilmember Joann Ariola, who is also chair of the Committee on Fire and Emergency Management, is proposing legislation to increase the financial penalties for blocking hydrants. She “would like to also increase fire hydrant summonses from $115 to $1,000 because that would make a person think twice before parking in front of a hydrant”. Additionally, Ariola says the legislation would “increase the fines for those held liable for criminal negligence if a fire results in injury or death”.
The FDNY Chief of Fire Operations, Kevin Woods, is reminding people that “drivers are not supposed to park within 15 feet of a hydrant”. He warns that “people who park on those hydrants, they’re putting the lives of everybody on that block in danger, and they’re also putting firefighters’ lives in danger.
FDNY fire marshals are still investigating the cause of the fire, and no arrests have been made. The identity of the victim has also not been released.
This was the 16th fatal fire in New York in 2026, according to the FDNY.
