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by MICHELLE O'DONNELL and JESS WISLOSKI
Queens man died yesterday afternoon in a rapidly moving fire that consumed his Jackson Heights apartment, police and fire officials said. The fire also injured four other residents of the six-story building and sent three firefighters to the hospital with minor injuries, the authorities said.
Among the injured was the mother of the dead man, who neighbors said had lived in a sixth-floor apartment in the building, at 94-26 34th Road, for more than two decades. The woman, whose name, like that of her son, was not released by the authorities, was pulled from her apartment, F7, with burns on her face, said Antonio Diaz, a former neighbor.
Mr. Diaz, who said he used to live in the building but now lives in Rockville Centre, on Long Island, returned to the building yesterday after he received word of the fire to help his elderly mother move to a temporary shelter.
He said that he had known the dead man casually while growing up, and that the man had diabetes.
Manuel Barba, who lives across the hall from the apartment where the man lived, but knew him and his mother only by sight, said that the man's leg was amputated about a year ago.
The intensity of the fire led officials to speculate that it might have been intentionally set, although the cause was still under investigation last night, according to Firefighter Charlie Markey, a spokesman for the department.
The fire, which was first reported at 3:08 p.m. and went to a third alarm within 20 minutes, was brought under control at 4:38 p.m., Firefighter Markey said.
The four injured residents were taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where the three injured firefighters were treated for injuries that included a broken wrist and a dislocated shoulder.
Last night, as broken glass littered the ground around the U-shaped building, some neighbors returned to their apartments. Those whose apartments were damaged in the fire boarded a bus to a hotel in Astoria, where the Red Cross is providing temporary shelter
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