Two people died following a one-alarm fire in a Queens home Monday afternoon, officials said.

First responders rushed to the blaze that erupted on the first floor of a two-story home around 3:21 p.m. near 254th St. and 87th Drive in Bellerose, finding a man and woman, police said. Their names were not immediately released.

A man and a woman were pronounced dead on scene after a fire inside a home on 254th St. in Queens on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)

EMS pronounced both victims dead at the scene; the medical examiner will determine their cause of death, authorities said.

Flames shoot from 87-86 254 St. (Obtained by Daily News)

“The two of them dead — so shocked to hear that. They were good neighbors and nice people,” neighbor Jay Jose, 57, a hospital administrator, told the Daily News.

A man and a woman were pronounced dead on scene after a fire inside a home on 254th St. in Queens on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)

Another neighbor, John Ruiz, told The News the victims “were older, in their 70s.”

“They were the nicest neighbors you can ask for,” Ruiz said. “He is the nicest guy. She wasn’t well — she didn’t get out much. She had trouble walking.”

A man and a woman were pronounced dead on scene after a fire inside a home on 254th St. in Queens on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)

One of the victims was found in the basement of the home; the other was found on the first floor, according to police sources.

“The smoke was coming out of the house, and the fire was coming out of the side window,” Jose told The News, adding the male victim “was active” and had “retired during COVID,” but that the woman “never came out of the house.”

A man and a woman were pronounced dead on scene after a fire inside a home on 254th St. in Queens on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
A man and a woman were pronounced dead on scene after a fire inside a home on 254th St. in Queens on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
A man and a woman were pronounced dead on scene after a fire inside a home on 254th St. in Queens on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)

https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/09/08/two-dead-in-fire-at-queens-private-home/