Man and his dog killed in Queens house fire
SOUTH OZONE PARK, Queens (WABC) -- Firefighters stood by an ailing dog to give him oxygen - it was his Queens home too, that burned down - and his owner, Roger Assmann who passed away.
Adrian had been with Roger for almost 24 years and married in 2018. He said Assmann was one of a kind.
"He was one of those people where you can ask him to do anything for you and he would do it," Adrian said
Firefighters ran toward the home at 12:30 on Saturday morning. Adrian was at his mother's house but rushed back to his partner in South Ozone Park.
"He called me and I tried to get over here as quickly as I could," he said.
The dog - carried away by medics - after apparently inhaling a lot of smoke. Assmann was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
As the sun came up, the physical damage was more apparent and the flames that torched the back of the home on 133rd Street also melted the side paneling next door.
Police say they believe the fire started in the kitchen.
"Any time you come out - the guy is out there 'Hi Mack' - he will be missed here," said neighbor Mack Mahabir.
Assmann, 57, was a neighbor to some - for decades. He lived in the house he grew up in, and on Saturday, both he and his dog, Dylan, are no longer there.
Adrian said the dog had to be put down after all it went through. He was 12.
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