A 75-year-old man perished in a Queens house fire yesterday when he ran back into the blaze to get his cellphone. Air Force veteran Nathan Lagree had already helped his wife and his eight-months-pregnant daughter escape from their single-family home in Springfield Gardens at around 6:20 am when he realized he forgot his phone.
NY1 reports that the Korean War veteran wanted to get his phone so he could call 911, but the fire had already been reported. "My father wanted to go back into the house for his phone, and I wouldn't let him go back in alone," his daughter, Patricia, told the Post. The father and daughter returned to the burning house together, but "the smoke got too much," said Patricia, who crawled out. "My father was ahead of me, and I lost sight of him."
