{"id":600139,"date":"2026-02-19T03:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T03:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/600139\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T03:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T03:38:14","slug":"man-22-dies-week-after-severely-burned-running-into-queens-fire-to-look-for-mom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/600139\/","title":{"rendered":"Man, 22, dies week after severely burned running into Queens fire to look for mom"},"content":{"rendered":"

A 22-year-old man has died a week after he ran back into his burning Queens home to rescue his mother<\/a> \u2014 not realizeing she had already escaped \u2014 and suffered severe burns to 99% of his body,<\/a> his heartbroken family said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Thet \u201cAlex\u201d Aung Oo died Tuesday from complications from the burns he suffered in the massive Feb. 9 inferno that engulfed his Elmhurst home on Dongan Ave. near Broadway.<\/p>\n

His family had held out hope he would survive beore receiving a heartbreaking call from the ICU at Harlem Hospital, his brother, Phyo Ko, told the Daily News.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was around 3:37 a.m.,\u201d Ko said. \u201cFrom all the time he was in the hospital, there was no movement, nothing at all \u2014 he was unconscious. Around 2 a.m., his blood pressure started rising. Doctors tried CPR, but they couldn\u2019t save him. We got the call from the doctors and when we got there like half an hour later he was already gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 34-year-old mother and her 17-day-old daughter who lived in the basement below Oos\u2019 family\u2019s apartment also died in the blaze<\/a>, FDNY officials said. Ten survivors needed medical treatment, including Oo and three firefighters who suffered minor injuries<\/a>, officials said.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe scene of a four-alarm fire in Elmhurst, Queens that gutted two buildings on Dongan Ave. on Feb. 9, 2026. (Kerry Burke \/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

On the night of the blaze, firefighters found Miguelina Alcantara, 34, in a flooded basement but not her infant daughter, Emma. The newborn was found a few days later when firefighters began removing debris from the basement. Part of the ceiling had collapsed, making a search difficult, FDNY officials said.<\/p>\n

Oo meanwhile, was fighing for his life. In addition to the burns covering almost his entire body, his lungs were filled with smoke and doctors were concerned his heart and kidneys might fail.<\/p>\n

More than $51,000 was raised on a GoFundMe seeking donations to help Oo\u2019s family pay for medical expenses<\/a>. The money raised helped with Thet\u2019s funeral, which was held Wednesday, his brother said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was loved by many,\u201d Ko said.<\/p>\n

Alyssa Jensen, the fianc\u00e9e of Oo\u2019s boss in Manhattan\u2019s Diamond District<\/a> who organized the GoFundMe, wrote that Thet showed \u201cextraordinary strength\u201d in his fight to live.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis injuries were too severe,\u201d she said. \u201cWhile our hearts are shattered, we find comfort in knowing he is no longer in pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlex was the most amazing person \u2014 the sweetest, kindest, and most selfless soul,\u201d Jensen added. \u201cHe went back into the burning home to make sure his parents were safe, and that act alone speaks to the character he carried every day of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ThetThet Aung Oo. (GoFundMe)<\/p>\n

FDNY officials on Wednesday were still trying to determine what sparked the massive blaze. Building code enforcement critics, including local City Councilman Shekar Krishnan, have pointed to possible illegal subdivision as a contributing factor in the fire and deaths.<\/p>\n

Residents said there were three or four bedrooms in the basement housing people from different families, including Alcantara and her daughter.<\/p>\n

The fire spread to two neighboring homes, damaging them as well.<\/p>\n

The building that was destroyed and the two others that were damaged were authorized for a total of eight apartments but they housed 14 families, officials said. The fire left about 45 people homeless, officials said.<\/p>\n

Oo\u2019s family lived on the first floor of the house where the fire started.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents started smelling the smoke, so my mother went out to find out what happened,\u201d Ko said. \u201cMy brother didn\u2019t know whether she was in the building or not. Confusion happened and he went back in.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Oo came back out, \u201che was naked and his body was completely on fire,\u201d Ko said. \u201cHe started rolling in the snow, ice and then the firefighters carried him to the ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ThetThet Aung Oo. (GoFundMe)<\/p>\n

On Sunday, less than a week after the Dongan Ave. fire and just half-a-mile away, 83-year-old Lou Best died in a blaze inside his apartment on 78th St. near Broadway.<\/p>\n

The cause of that fire is also still under investigation.<\/p>\n

When firefighters arrived, they found a frozen hydrant and another that was blocked by a parked vehicle, FDNY Deputy Chief Jeff Meister said at the scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere seems to be an issue throughout the city where residents are parking on hydrants,\u201d Meister told reporters. \u201cWhen vehicles are parked on a hydrant, it definitely impedes our operation and slows everything down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Best\u2019s wife, Zaida Valera, was at work when the 7:15 p.m. blaze broke out<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I go to work he say, \u2018Oh you\u2019re gonna leave me all alone again?\u2019 So I just tell him, \u2018Watch TV and talk to the TV,\u2019\u201d Valera told 1010 WINS. \u201cI was really busy. I\u2019m missing him now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Best lived on Manhattan\u2019s Upper West Side before moving to Queens.<\/p>\n

Gregory Maro, Best\u2019s neighbor for 30 years, said the octogenarian loved to travel, mostly to China.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d watch his apartment when he was away,\u201d Maro said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh my god. I hope she\u2019s okay,\u201d he said of Best\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n

FDNY officials said that 18 people have died in fires across the city so far this year. By this time last year, 14 people had died in fires.<\/p>\n

With Sheetal Banchariya<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 22-year-old man has died a week after he ran back into his burning Queens home to rescue…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":600140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,2451,3059,5295,1370,728,405,403,5294,50,5226,5225,5228,5227,5293,4413,5321,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-600139","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-city","10":"tag-county","11":"tag-crime-and-public-safety","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-local-news","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-new-york-county","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-newyork","19":"tag-newyorkcity","20":"tag-ny","21":"tag-nyc","22":"tag-nyc-crime","23":"tag-queens","24":"tag-sub-county-region","25":"tag-united-states","26":"tag-united-states-of-america","27":"tag-unitedstates","28":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","29":"tag-us","30":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116095215561751045","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}